Assahafa.com
The Chairperson of the African Union Commission (AUC), Mahmoud Ali Youssouf, praised the Kingdom of Morocco’s sustained efforts in strengthening African capacities in electoral observation and democratic governance.
In his semi-annual report on elections in Africa, Ali Youssouf highlighted the growing impact of the electoral observers’ training cycle organized in Rabat through a partnership between Morocco and the Department of Political Affairs, Peace and Security of the AU Commission.
The report was adopted during the 1,288th meeting of the African Union Peace and Security Council (AU PSC), which welcomed the support provided by African countries in building the capacities of AU electoral observers in the areas of elections and democracy.
Notably, it acknowledged the organization of the 4th annual edition of the specialized training for short-term AU electoral observers, held from April 22 to 25, 2025, in Rabat.
This 4th training cycle enabled the training of 120 new observers from 52 African countries, bringing the total number of beneficiaries since the launch of the program in June 2022 to over 300, including 175 women.
This training cycle, the result of an effective partnership between Morocco and the AU Commission, is part of an ambitious dynamic to consolidate democratic governance in Africa.
The report also highlights the importance of the seminar-dialogue on elections and democracy in Africa, held on the sidelines of the training at the Policy Center for the New South, affiliated with Mohammed VI Polytechnic University in Rabat.
Moreover, the report underscores the adoption of the Rabat Call to Action, issued following the seminar-dialogue and structured around five key pillars. These include establishing gender quotas within electoral bodies, allocating specific budgets to ensure the safety of women during observation missions, creating intervention units to combat gender-based violence, increasing the involvement of young human rights defenders, and systematically disaggregating electoral data by gender.
Source: map
