Peace Mediation in Electoral Processes Methodology

The Peace Mediation in Electoral Processes Methodology fills a significant gap by offering concrete guidance when attempting to mediate or support peace mediation efforts in electoral processes or crises that arise or escalate due to flawed elections.

As underlined in the EEAS “Peace Mediation Guidelines”: “elections can exacerbate tensions, reveal underlying conflicts, trigger violence and accentuate risks to political stability and peace in fragile or conflict-affected countries.”

For this reason, and to bring the guidelines into practice, the focus of the Methodology goes beyond preventing electoral violence. It focuses on unlocking the potential of mediation and dialogue as a tool that holds great value throughout the electoral cycle and process.

Bringing peace mediation closer to the technical aspects of electoral processes does two things: (1) It allows entry points for mediation support to emerge clearer, (2) it visualises the risks and limitations of mediation and provides a realistic timeline.

This methodology allows great flexibility in its implementation. It can be structured as a training curriculum, a way of analysing risks and opportunities for conflict settlement, or part of conflict analysis or political economy analysis.