The National Election Board of Ethiopia (NEBE) participated at the 7th annual continental forum of Electoral Management Bodies (EMBs) held in Maputo, Mozambique.

The general assembly of the Association of African Election Authorities (AEA) was also held along with the forum, and Ethiopia was elected to serve as Deputy President of the continental Association.

NEBE was represented by its chairperson Birtukan Midekssa to participate in this forum organized by the Department of Political Affairs, Peace and Security (DPAPS) of the African Union Commission (AUC) and the Association of African Electoral Authorities (AAEA) from 14-15 November 2022 in Maputo, Mozambique.

Including Ethiopia, participants of the forum congregated from the African Union Commission (AUC), EMBs of the AU Member States and members of the Association of African Electoral Authorities, Regional Economic Communities networks of EMBs, International Organizations involved in electoral assistance, Civil Society Organizations and academia working in the elections field and other democratic governance actors.

The Forum was convened under the overall theme: “Building Resilience of Election Management Bodies to Safeguard Democracy in Africa”. The NEBE chairperson took part and shared her experience at a panel with the theme of “Promoting gender in EMBs leadership and experiences of women chairpersons of EMBs in Africa”.

The discussion was conducted in light of the lived experiences of women chairpersons of EMBs in a bid to harness lessons towards developing engendered resilience in overcoming barriers in managing elections. The session was joined by Mrs. Jean Mensa, Chairperson of the Electoral Commission of Ghana, and Mrs. Halima Ismail, Chairperson of the National Independent Electoral Commission of Somalia.