The Commission held a bilateral meeting with United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to provide an update on its operational preparedness for the 2027 General Elections. Led by the Commission Secretary/CEO Marjan H. Marjan, MBS, IEBC expressed appreciation for UNDP’s continued support through the Basket Fund, especially in the pre, during and post-election phases of the 2022 General Election.

Marjan commended the timeliness of the visit, given the proximity to the 2027 General Election, and shared updates on the ongoing recruitment of Chairperson and members of the Commission. He noted that the reconstitution of the Commission is expected in the coming months, making UNDP’s engagement particularly timely and instrumental.

The UNDP Deputy Resident Representative, Ms. Madelena Monoja described the visit as a fact-finding mission to identify areas where UNDP can provide early support, in what is ordinarily known as Needs Assessment Mission (NAM) for the IEBC in preparation for the 2027 General Election. She welcomed the timing of the engagement, which coincides with the recruitment of the Chairperson and members of the Commission.

NAM ordinarily precedes any UNDP support to any institution in a sovereign state. Upon establishing priority areas, the Commission or any other Government agencies like Treasury and Ministry of Foreign and Diaspora Affairs and UNDP sign a tripartite agreement to guide its implementation.

From the meeting, the possible options for supporting IEBC are: crafting a NAM on the immediate support on the induction of the Chairperson and members of the Commission, carrying out a full NAM when the Commission is fully constituted, and supporting the Commission’s continuous capacity building through attending Regional and Global conferences on electoral related matters.