Fabio Bargiacchi is the founder of ECES. He currently serves as the Executive Director and is a member of ECES’ Management Board. Under his leadership, ECES has become one of the top electoral assistance providers for EU and EU Member States-funded projects.
Fabio’s work in the elections field dates back to the early 1990s. Considering his experiences with the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), United Nations & United Nations Development Programme, EU and ECES, Fabio has dealt with electoral and democratisation processes in over 60 different countries and has worked on more than 100 electoral assistance projects since 1997.
In this interview, he highlights ECES' mission as a bridge between the EU, its member states, and African countries. Through a peer-to-peer approach and a deep understanding of cultural nuances, ECES aims to foster stronger relationships and contribute to democratic processes. Operating independently, ECES is able to pursue its objectives with integrity and build trust with partners.
As an operational, non-political actor, the organization maintains autonomy and upholds its core beliefs. This commitment has allowed ECES to establish a successful network and collaborate closely with several electoral management bodies and key local actors, including the Electoral Commission Forum of the Southern African Development Community (ECF-SADC), ECOWAS Network of Electoral Commissions (ECONEC), the Associations of African Election Authorities (AAEA), the Réseau des compétences électorales francophones (RECEF) and the African Union (AU).
The interview was taken last year by our partner and film director, Jarreth Merz, with whom we have collaborated extensively in the context of the film documentaries on the 2008 elections in Ghana (An African Election) and the 2022 Kenya Elections (Kenya’s Democratic Journey).
