OSCE Mission to Montenegro trains municipal electoral commissions on how to administer elections

Polling station staff have a vital role in administering elections and ensuring that voters, political parties and candidates have confidence in the election process, which is why the OSCE Mission to Montenegro and the State Election Commission held a training workshop for municipal electoral commissions on how to train polling station staff for the presidential election scheduled for 19 March.

Taks and responsibilities on the election day, setting up a polling station, supporting voters and counting ballots were some of the topics discussed on 8 March with representatives of all municipal electoral commissions in Montenegro. Following today’s workshop, municipal electoral commissions will train polling station staff accross the country.

Dragan Zelić, Electoral Technical Assistance Officer at the Mission, explained that the aim of this training workshop was to prepare polling station staff for the upcoming election, as well as contribute to a greater transparency and public confidence in the electoral process. “The workshop addressed all aspects of administering an election, including the accessibility of elections for persons with disabilities,” said Zelić.

Nikola Mugoša, Chair of the State Election Commission, said that quality training sessions are a precondition to administering elections successfully at polling stations. “I hope that municipal electoral commissions will deliver training sessions to all polling station staff. The State Election Commission stands ready to provide advice and information to municipal electoral commissions, as necessary,” said Mugoša.

In support of greater transparency and public confidence in the electoral process, in July 2022 the Mission donated video equipment to enable the State Election Commission livestream its meetings. By livestreaming its sessions, expected to start this month, the Commission fulfilled one of the OSCE/ODIHR recommendations to broadcast its sessions live online and allow media to access the sessions. In doing so, the Commission will further increase its transparency and build public confidence in the work of the election administration.

The OSCE Mission to Montenegro has worked alongside the State Election Commission and municipal electoral commissions for over six years, and it will continue supporting their work in line with OSCE commitments and principles.

* This activity is part of the OSCE Mission’s 2023 project with the State Election Commission and is not linked to the current election observation activities conducted by ODIHR.