The Electoral Commission (EC) publicist Mr. Jotham Taremwa has Friday travelled to India to attend the fourth General Assembly of Association of World Election Bodies (A-WEB) slated to begin September 2 to 4th in Bengaluru, Karnataka.
Mr. Taremwa will further participate in a conference organised by the host, Election Commission of India whose discussions will derive on the theme ‘initiatives and challenges of social media and Information Technology in election process’.
A-WEB which is composed of 114 members from 106 countries meets annually to deliberate on strengthening electoral democracy, foster efficiency and effectiveness in conducting free and fair elections and also identifying challenges and developments in managing an electoral process.
Last year, A-WEB was hosted in Korea.
Key areas A-WEB puts emphasis on are, organising management and capacity building program for election to strengthen capacity of the managers and ultimately manage their own election in more professional and effective manner.
To be able to build capacity, A-WEB aims at supporting participants to study various electoral systems, discuss issues and challenges each member faces and comes up with solutions to the shared predicaments.
Further, the members are given a chance to exchange good practices and learn an international standard of election management.
The members find an opportunity to establish network of election officials around the world who share experiences and expertise.
Also participants associate with invited guests who help them to have a better understanding of all aspects of election management and electoral cycle.
Uganda is preparing for a general election in 2021 and the Electoral Commission has already begun reorganising polling stations as per the roadmap launched late last year.
Mr. Taremwa will return to Kampala with a wealthy experience and good practices in managing the election at time of social media revolution in Uganda and hopes to help the commission to handle sensitive electoral issues fairly and organize a democratic election.
