2017-2018 NEWS & VIEWS
7TH ANNUAL MEETING OF ELECTION MANAGEMENT BODIES, BORJOMI, GEORGIA
February 2017
Taking place 27-28 February 2017, the 7th Annual EMB conference was again hosted by the Central Election Commission of Georgia. Delian provided panelists for the event, which covered issues such as election logistics, countering foreign disinformation during elections, as well as supporting disabled and special needs voters.
UWI GUILD OF STUDENTS ELECTIONS & UTECH
March 2017
Delian supported all three Caribbean University of West Indies campuses with donated election technology during their Guild of Student Elections. In addition, at the request of the Electoral Office of Jamaica, Delian also provided systems to the University of Technology (UTech) student vote.
NUPW AGM, BRIDGETOWN, BARBADOS
April 2017
Delian donated Canadian election technology and expertise for use during the National Union of Public Workers elections. Taking place biennially, the NUPW elections are conducted at nine polling locations throughout Barbados.
14TH IEAS, COLOMBO, SRI LANKA
May 2017
The Election Commission of Sri Lanka, in partnership with ICPS, hosted the 14th International Electoral Affairs Symposium in Colombo 25-26 May 2017. Topics discussed included campaign finance reform, voter education, and providing accessibility for special needs voters.
MUNICIPAL ELECTIONS IN LATVIA
June 2017
At the invitation of the Central Election Commission of Latvia, Delian deployed an election observation team to cover municipal elections in the capital Riga. The elections took place 3 June 2017 with all major municipalities in Latvia participating.
NATIONAL ELECTION IN THE UNITED KINGDOM
June 2017
At the invitation of the UK Elections Commission, Delian deployed a three-person election observation team led by Jean-Pierre Kingsley to observer the national elections on 8 June 2017. Delian was assigned the district of Westminster, alongside co-observers from Georgia and France.
CREDIT UNION ELECTIONS, BARBADOS
June 2017
As it has every June since 2015, Delian deployed an election technology advisory team to Barbados in order to support the AGM elections for both the City of Bridgetown Cooperative Credit Union, and the Barbados Public Workers Cooperative Credit Union, with donated voting technology.
MUNICIPAL BI-ELECTIONS, JAMAICA
October 2017
At the invitation of the Electoral Office of Jamaica, Delian deployed at two-person election team to observe the municipal bi-elections on 30 October 2017. Joined by representatives from the Canadian High Commission in Kingston, the Delian team’s area of observation was the parish of St Andrew’s.
26TH ACEEEO AGM, SOFIA, BULGARIA
November 2017
Hosted by the Central Election Commission of Bulgaria, the 26th Annual Association of Central and Eastern European Election Officials (ACEEEO) AGM took place from 8-10 November 2017, in Sofia. The primary theme of the AGM was “Conscious Voters in the Digital Age.”
15TH INTERNATIONAL ELECTORAL AFFAIRS SYMPOSIUM AND INTERNATIONAL AWARDS, JORDAN
December 2017
Presented in collaboration with the Independent Election Commission of Jordan and the International Centre of Parliamentary Studies in the UK, the 15th IEAS took place from 3-6 December 2017 near the Dead Sea. Of note, as the sole Canadian entity present, DELIAN was asked to accept an international election award on behalf of Elections Ontario.
8TH ANNUAL MEETING OF ELECTION MANAGEMENT BODIES, TBILISI, GEORGIA
February 2018
The 8th Annual EMB conference in Tbilisi took place from 27-28 February with over 25 international EMBs participating. Supported by IFES, USAID, and ICPS, the annual event has grown from a South Caucus focused symposium, into a significant forum on the election industry calendar. The main focus of the event was safeguarding democracies against external actors.
UWI GUILD OF STUDENTS & UTECH ELECTIONS
March 2018
What has affectionately come to be known on campus as “March Election Madness”, Delian again facilitated its annual technology donation to both the University of West Indies (Trinidad & Tobago, Barbados, and Jamaica), and University of Technology of Jamaica’s respective Guild of Student elections. Participation and support were provided by several of the host nation election management bodies, in particular the Electoral Office of Jamaica.
MUNICIPAL BI-ELECTIONS, ZUGDIDI, GEORGIA
May 2018
At the request of the Central Election Commission of Georgia, Delian donated Canadian voting technology and expertise to conduct an election technology research pilot during the municipal bi-elections in Zugdidi. A senior Delian technician was embedded within the CEC for several weeks leading up to the 13 May 2018 vote, with senior Canadian observers present for the actual election.
ONTARIO PROVINCIAL ELECTIONS, TORONTO, CANADA
June 2018
At the request of Elections Ontario, Delian was pleased to organize an international election observation delegation to participate in the 7 June 2018 Provincial elections. Nations represented included Barbados, Jamaica, Trinidad & Tobago, USA, Australia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Mongolia, and Georgia.
27TH ACEEEO AGM, VILNIUS, LITHUANIA
September 2018
Delian Advisory Board Chair, Jean-Pierre Kingsley, was again invited to deliver a keynote address during the 27th Association of Central and Eastern European Election Officials (ACEEEO) annual general meeting. Hosted by the Central Election Commission of Lithuania, this year’s event took place from 5-7 September 2018 in Vilnius and included a private reception with the Embassy of Canada.
U.S. MID-TERM ELECTIONS, UTAH
November 2018
Delian joined international election officials from Jamaica and India to observe the 6 November 2018 U.S. mid-term elections in Utah County, Utah. This was the first known integration of electronic poll books and paper ballot tabulators in the State of Utah.