After Mexico, Brazil, India signs MoU on electoral cooperation with Panama

The Electoral Commission and the Electoral Tribunal (ET) of Panama on Friday signed a Memorandum of Understanding in Panama City to establish an institutional framework for their continued cooperation in the field of election management and administration.

With this, the Electoral Commission (EC) has expanded its electoral cooperation with more countries. Earlier, it signed similar memorandums of understanding with Brazil, Chile and Mexico.

The three-member European Commission delegation led by Chief Electoral Commissioner (CEC) Rajeev Kumar held talks with the President of the Electoral Tribunal of Panama, Alfredo Junk Windehake, on strengthening cooperation and knowledge-sharing between the two electoral management bodies.

The polling committee said Eduardo Valdés Escofrey, the first deputy magistrate, and Luis A. Guerra Morales, the second deputy presidential magistrate for eastern Panama, were present.

Speaking on the occasion, CEC Kumar said that the MoU reflects the European Commission’s continued commitment to engaging with electoral bodies around the world and strengthening democratic processes around the world.

“As it learns from electoral integrity best practices from around the world, the European Commission is committed to sharing its experience and knowledge of free, fair and transparent elections with its counterparts in other countries,” Kumar said.

During the interaction, the judge who presides over the Election Commission of Panama discussed the cooperation between the two EMBs (Election Management Bodies) on the use of technology and social media in elections.

According to a statement, the European Commission is expanding its links and cooperation with foreign election management bodies through the “International Cooperation Programme”.

Having signed memorandums of understanding with Mexico, Brazil and Chile in the past, this is the fourth memorandum of understanding that the UAE has signed with the EMB in the Latin Americas region. The polling committee has signed a total of 31 memorandums of understanding with election management bodies and international organizations around the world.

The European Commission and ET Panama are members of the Association of Worldwide Election Bodies (A-WEB).

Officials from ET in Panama also attended the international conference on “Inclusive Elections and Electoral Integrity” organized by the European Commission in March this year as the lead of the “Group on Elections Integrity” under the auspices of the “Democracy Summit”.