1. Contribution to Session 4 Plenary Session on “Capacity Building and Professional Development of Electoral Officials” By Attahiru M. Jega Chairman, Independent Electoral Commission INEC, Nigeria

2. Introduction Countries that are democratizing face enormous challenges in their striving to deepen democracy through free, fair and credible elections Amongst these, countries emerging from extreme authoritarian rule, especially of the military variety, such as Nigeria, face even more profound challenges, attributable to: Weak institutions Deep culture of authoritarianism, instead of a democratic culture Lack of a professional cadre of well- trained staff that can discharge electoral duties competently and efficiently

3. Intro… Inadequacy or lack of a professional cadre of electoral officials is, indeed, one of the major challenges an EMB in a transition to democracy context faces Faced with this particular challenge, an EMB may do one, some or all of the following: Recruitment to regenerate staff Training and retraining Specialized skills provisioning Restructuring and reorganization

4. Categories of Training For Permanent staff – Managerial – Professional / Skills provisioning For Ad hoc or temporary Staff – Skills provisioning

5. Specific Training Needs Voter education Operations and logistics Biometric registration Election Day procedures Tabulation and transmission of results Securing the electoral process ICT

6. INEC: Efforts to Address Training Needs Institutional Re-structuring and Re-organization Created a lean and more efficient structure Put square pegs in square holes Made training an priority in the Strategic Plan Tapping into available (BRIDGE Training) resources – AU – CWN – I-IDEA – Etc.

7. Efforts… Linkages with other EMBs Support from other Partners – UNDP – IFES – ECOWAS

8. Efforts… Repositioning of The Electoral Institute On-going discussions with Partners to improve the institute’s capacity or research and training Hope to make the Institute serve not only the needs of INEC but also of SIECs and other EMBs in the Sub-region

9. Efforts… Drawing from the experience of S/Leone, we are considering setting up at the Institute certificate training programs for Ad hoc or temporary staff, which could be important qualifications for recruitment to do election duties. We are also drawing lessons from other EMBs and especially countries with existing Institutes, such as India, Mexico and South Africa. Additionally, we are establishing or strengthening partnerships with local academic institutions, as well as international organizations, to leverage existing resources for capacity building and professional development of INEC’s staff 10

10. Conclusion Addressing the training needs of EMBs goes along to assure electoral Integrity Doing so, however, requires resources, which quite often are inadequate in transitional democracies Partnerships, linkages and collaborative efforts are required to assure success in meeting these needs