266 years and 3 days.
That's the accumulation of electoral experience of women participants in the training "Strategy for the prevention of electoral conflicts and the role of women in the electoral process - LEAD" organised in Dakar from November 17 to19, 2020.
For 3 days, members of various civil society organisations and the DGE discussed the challenges of their participation in the electoral process, the prevention of electoral conflicts, as well as the roots and types of #conflicts.
The volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity of the electoral world, especially in times of pandemic, with all the challenges of planning and organising a poll were debated by the 21 participants (20 women and one man).
Each period and stage of the electoral cycle was taken into account for practical exercises on the role and participation of #women.
The biggest issue highlighted: attacks on personal life, more difficult for women than for men, which very often force them to withdraw from the electoral race as a candidate.
Other issues tackled included the #gender sensitive policy within each organisation, leaders' ability to recognise and promote the skills of every citizen, regardless of gender, and the challenges of women as voters.
A very dynamic training, with many interventions and debates, which, beyond the educational component, created a forum for discussion and exchange between several actors in the elections: women #journalists, #lawyers (@Association of Women Lawyers), women involved in election observation (COSEF and REAVPOL framework), women involved in the organisation and supervision of the polls (DGE and CENA), women involved in the fight against #violence (Collective against violence against women ) and in the fight for equality (Francophone Network for Gender Equality).
The training was organised by ECES in support of the Direction Generale des Elections Senegal (DGE) as part of the Support Project for the Electoral Process in Senegal (PAPES), funded by the Federal Republic of Germany.
