OSCE Mission to Montenegro supports mock exercise for election officials

A two-day OSCE-supported mock election exercise for some 40 participants from the State Elections Commission (SEC) and Municipal Election Commissions (MEC) concluded on 5 August 2016 in Podgorica.   

The aim of the event, co-organized by the OSCE Mission to Montenegro and the SEC, was to create and develop an election operational plan and to further enhance the level of co-operation between the SEC and MECs.

During the exercise, participants were led through all phases of the election processes and through the practical work and concrete examples, were able to define all operational steps.

“Each and every citizen has to know that the election system will secure their rights. In other words that their ability to freely vote will be accepted, that their vote will be counted, and that their active participation in the process will be respected,” said Dan Redford, Deputy Head of OSCE Mission to Montenegro. “You are one of the main guardians of those rights.”

Budimir Saranovic, President of the State Election Commission, emphasized the importance of continuous training of all election administration levels and the commitment of the SEC to work continuously on this issue.

The event is part of the extra budgetary project on providing technical sssistance to the Montenegrin SAC funded by Austria, Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom. The OSCE Mission will continue to support the SEC with the aim of strengthening this institution and its ability to manage and administer elections in line with international standards.