Maseru, 7 December 2015: A 5-day Building Resources for Democracy, Governance and Elections (BRIDGE) Training has begun today in Maseru, the Kingdom of Lesotho, for the staff of the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC). The training on “Civic Education and Voter Information” has the objective to help the staff of IEC to better carry out its constitutional mandate relating to civic education and voter information and enhance political participation. Participants for the training are drawn from senior management and implementers of Civic Education and Voter Information within the IEC. The training is a second in the series of capacity building program planned for the IEC as part of African Union project on Follow-up on Recommendations of African Union Election Observation Missions. The first training took place in August 2015.

In his remarks, Mr. Samuel Atuobi, Senior Political/Elections Officer, stated that the training is a clear indication of African Union and its partners, International IDEA and GIZ’s continuous engagement in the Kingdom of Lesotho to ensure that the IEC continuously improves its capacity to professionally and effectively manage elections in a manner that contributes to democratic consolidation in the country. He added that, in the coming years, the African Union will continue to work with the IEC to deliver additional BRIDGE trainings in areas of priority to the IEC in preparation for future elections.

On her part, the IEC Commissioner, Adv. Mamosebi Pholo, expressed profound gratitude to the African Union Commission for the continuous support to the IEC in particular, adding that the BRIDGE Trainings and various support for the Kingdom of Lesotho are clear indication of the benefit of being a member of the African Union. She called on participants to show dedication and commitment during the course and used their skills to help entrench democracy in the Kingdom of Lesotho.

The BRIDGE Training in the Kingdom of Lesotho is a joint-planned activity between the African Union Commission and International IDEA with sponsorship from the GIZ.

The training which begun today will end on Friday, 11 December 2015.

For more information, contact:

Samuel Mondays Atuobi: Atuobis@africa-union.org

Democracy and Electoral Assistance Unit
Department of Political Affairs
African Union Commission