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Opening Speech

 

Opening speech, official launching ceremony

of the programme “Enhanced support to Democratic Governance in Jordan”,

by Monica Frassoni, ECES President

 


It is a great honor for me in my capacity as President of the European Centre for Electoral Support to be here in Amman at the launching this Programme to enhance Democratic Governance in Jordan.

 EU Support to Jordanian Democratic Institutions & Development project  forms part of the wider programme that will support the House of Representatives, the Independent Electoral Commission and the Political Party Systems. This project will be implemented by a consortium led by ECES on the basis of a strategy entitled “A European Response to Electoral Cycle Support”. 

 

The strategy is an innovative delivery mechanism to implement electoral and democracy assistance activities that are consistent with European values and EU policies. It adopts an inclusive approach towards a wide range of democratic stakeholders in order to ensure comprehensive and sustainable actions. The consortium, under the umbrella of the European Partnership for Democracy, comprises:

 

  • The European Centre for Electoral Support 
  • Westminster Foundation for Democracy
  • The French Media cooperation Agency 
  • The Netherlands Institute for Multiparty Democracy 

 

In this context, the project aims:

  • At contributing to reinforce the House of Representatives in exercising its parliamentary functions in a professional, accountable and transparent manner; 
  • At enhancing the Independent Electoral Commission and other key stakeholders’ capacities to contribute to professional, transparent and credible electoral processes;
  • At cementing the political party system’s role in contributing to democratic governance and policy making,

 

The project will implement the following activities, just to name a few: 

  • Delivery of inclusive and customized trainings and capacity enhancing programs;
  • Coaching and mentoring activities to raise leadership capacities and support women and youth involvement in democratic processes;
  • Best practice-sharing activities at regional level and with European partners, including the European Parliament;
  • Beneficiary-driven political dialogue support and inter-party dialogue; 
  • Procurement of ICT/material including a paperless conference and voting system for the Parliament;
  • Awareness raising campaigns to stimulate public involvement in democratic and electoral processes;
  • Institutional communication support and specific trainings for media and journalists. 

 

A very important element of the project is that all activities have been designed in collaboration with beneficiaries in order to ensure the ownership and sustainability of the results and this inclusive method is an integral part of the "European flavor" the EU ambassador Fontana mentioned.

 

This project reflects the partnership between the EU and Jordan for democratic governance, which aligned with Jordanian priorities as stated in the vision of his majesty King Abdullah the 2nd . We are sure that the process in which Jordan has already embarked on, will have an international echo, since we have witnessed heavy challenges to democracies in many areas of the world on both sides of our "mare nostrum", the Mediterranean Sea, as shown by the violent attacks to our societies by ill-guided groups and individuals, lately in the terrible events in Manchester, for which we extend our condolences to the British people through the UK ambassador. 

 

This reminds us that democracy can never be taken for granted. Efforts to deepen democracy- which has a much more larger meaning than the organization of elections-  in our time are therefore never redundant; we are honored to contribute to this process by supporting the overarching principles of participation, tolerance and dialogue to meaningfully contribute to political life. 

 

Our implementation philosophy leans on European and Jordanian values and accountable, transparent and trustworthy use of resources. Our consortium is proud to have been entrusted the vital task of coordinating the overall implementation of the three components of this programme. We will coordinate closely with the Spanish Agency for International Cooperation Development that will implement the complementary component in support of civil society.   

 

The combined experience of our consortium, having provided democracy support in the region and elsewhere in the world, serve as a guarantee that we will continue to listen, understand and respond to the needs and the will of those we are here to serve and support. Democracy and electoral support only work when those who are meant to benefit from it are in the driver seat. 

 

We pledge to provide leadership and passionate commitment when needed and to remain humble before this important task entrusted to us. We are also here to learn and we look forward to a fruitful exchange with our Jordanian partners. 

 

Finally, I wish once more to thank our partners and friends in Jordan for the hospitality and trust in our Consortium to carry out this important work together with you, and to the European Union and the relevant Jordanian Institutions for continuing to be a reliable ally and support and all of those who endeavors to deepen democracy.