On November 2019, the African Union Commission and Kenya’s Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) organised a forum on “Enhancing Participation of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) and Refugees in Elections: towards More Inclusive Electoral Processes in Africa” in Nairobi, Kenya, to which ECES was invited to participate. This marked the first time that, on the continent, senior electoral officials were collectively engaging with the policy issue of internal displacement, refugees and elections in Africa.

Parallel to the event, ECES set upon exploring the possibilities of developing a suitable programme for Kenya with partners in the country. In doing so, ECES interacted with the Delegation of the European Union in Nairobi and with various key Kenyan leaders and electoral stakeholders. A series of important meetings with NCIC were subsequently held at the highest levels, which led to firm commitments on the part of the Kenyan partners to a project for peacebuilding, cohesion and  electoral support by ECES.