Workshop

Electoral Cooperation in the Euro-Mediterranean Area

24 - 25 September 2008

Vienna

The Austrian Institute for International Affairs (OIIP) hosted a workshop on “Electoral Cooperation in the Euro-Mediterranean Area”. The event was organised with the support of the Berlin-based Democracy Reporting International (DRI) and EuroMeSCo.

The workshop analysed the impact of elections in the South, the potentials and pitfalls of the electoral frameworks in both North Africa and the Mashreq, and reflected on whether and to what extent the EU and the EMP should become actively engaged in the field of electoral cooperation in the Euro-Mediterranean area.

Agenda

Welcome & Introductory Remarks

Otmar Höll Director, OIIP, Vienna

Gonçalo Santa Clara Gomes Senior Project Manager, EuroMeSCo Secretariat, Lisbon

Michael Meyer-Resende Director, Democracy Reporting International, Berlin

SESSION ONE

Political Participation in the Euro-Mediterranean Area: Elections in the South and their Impact on Political Development

chair Tobias Schumacher Chairholder of the European Neighbourhood Policy Chair European Neighbourhood Policy Chair, College of Europe – Natolin campus

Geoffrey Weichselbaum Consultant, Brussels

Daniel Zisenwine Post-Doc Fellow, Moshe Dayan Center, Tel Aviv University

SESSION TWO

Electoral Frameworks in North Africa: Evaluating Achievements and Future Perspectives

chair Otmar Höll Director, OIIP, Vienna

Abdelkrim Dahmen MP, Movement for a Peaceful Society, Algiers

Mohamed Bouzidi Visiting Professor, Al Akhawayn University, Ifrane

SESSION THREE

Comparing Electoral Frameworks in the Mashreq Region: Judging Pitfalls and Potentials

chair Richard Chambers Chief of Party, IFES Lebanon, Beirut

Luay Shabaneh President, Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, Ramallah

Said Sanadiki Director, Lebanese Association for Free Elections (LADE), Beirut

Gudrun Harrer Journalist, Der Standard, Vienna & former Special Envoy to Iraq for the Austrian EU Presidency

SESSION FOUR

The EU, the EMP and Elections in the South: Revisiting Euro-Mediterranean Electoral Cooperation

chair Cengiz Günay Senior Researcher, OIIP, Vienna

Michael Meyer-Resende Director, Democracy Reporting International, Berlin

Luciano Zaccara Director, Election Watch, Madrid

Amir Motahari European Commission, Brussels

Conclusions & End of Seminar