– Junior election professional’s programme trains future leaders

Junior election officials from across the Commonwealth are on their way to becoming the next generation of leaders of election management bodies, delegates heard at the 2016 Commonwealth Electoral Network conference.Vishnu Persaud of Guyana’s Elections Commission was one of four alumni of the Commonwealth Secretariat’s Junior Election Professionals (JEP) Initiative who addressed the biennial conference in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago on Thursday 23 June.
The programme was established under the direction of the Commonwealth Electoral Network and with funding from Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and has since trained nearly a hundred staff of election commissions from Commonwealth member countries.
Persaud attended the first-ever JEP training event in New Delhi, India, in 2013. Now he is the Elections Commission’s Deputy Chief Election Officer. “I can say without any doubt that when I left that programme I was very much richer in terms of knowledge,” he says.

“I can say without any doubt that when I left that programme I was very much richer in terms of knowledge.” – Vishnu Persaud, Deputy Chief Elections Officer, Guyana Elections Commission

He has since been leading reforms including steps to move from manual to electronic voter registration. “The knowledge I acquired is what I am applying in terms of developing the methodology for the implementation of electronic registration.”
“We refer to ourselves as the JEP family because we have a network through which we communicate every day, sharing our experiences and the challenges we encounter,” Persaud adds.
It is a sentiment echoed by Dorcas Crentsil, an Electoral Officer from the Election Commission of Ghana, who joined the JEP Initiative at an Africa region training event in Botswana in August 2015.
“I would advise and encourage anyone who has the opportunity to join to do so, because it’s going to open up networks for you. We, the 2015 Botswana group, go online to discuss any difficulties we encounter. If anyone has a solution, you will get it.”
“Aspire to be the best.” This, she says, is a mantra she picked up during the programme, which has stayed with her ever since. “It is a slogan we still use. It is about aspiring to be the best among your team and also your EMB [election management body].”
Vincentia Laurent Adrien from Dominica’s Electoral Office attended a JEP training event in Jamaica in September 2014. “I learnt about the role of women in politics, the independence of EMBs, and also learnt a great deal about voter registration.”
“I would encourage others to take part in the JEP programme as it is an avenue for developing your skills and gives you the opportunity to get a promotion in your electoral body,” she says.
Abdul Qayyum Khan, Deputy Director of the Election Commission of Pakistan, also attended a JEP workshop in India in 2015 which covered gender and women’s participation in the electoral process. “After attending the JEP Initiative back in India last year, I held a meeting with all the officers in the Election Commission,” he says.
“As a result the commission made a decision that a chapter in support of women in the electoral process shall be included in the training plan for election officials.” This is set to be rolled out for the country’s upcoming 2018 general elections, he adds.
“The JEP Initiative was the best platform through which I got the opportunity to gain knowledge and ideas on how to promote the inclusion of women in the electoral process,” he continues.
The Commonwealth Electoral Network’s 2016 Biennial Conference, from 22 to 24 June 2016, is convened by the Commonwealth Secretariat and hosted by Trinidad and Tobago’s Elections and Boundaries Commission, led by its Chairperson, Mark Ramkerrysingh.

(Commonwealth Secretariat)