In the framework of the south-south cooperation initiatives, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) – Lebanese Elections Assistance Project (LEAP), along with UNDP Mexico, organised a two-day workshop between the Mexican Federal Electoral Tribunal and the Constitutional Council in Lebanon on topics related to the structure and attributions of the two institutions in the context of the elections dispute resolution system.
The workshop took place at the Council’s premises on 11 and 12 October. It aimed at exploring possibilities of cooperation, exchanging judicial-electoral information and sharing good practices in the area of elections dispute resolution.
The Mexican Electoral Tribunal delegation, headed by magistrates Mr. Reyes Rodríguez and Mr. Felipe de la Mata of the Mexican Electoral Tribunal, visited the president of the Constitutional Council, Dr. Issam Sleiman, in the presence of member of the constitutional council, Dr. Antoine Messarra, the UNDP Country Director, Ms. Celine Moyroud, the head of the Governance/Security/Social Development/Civil Society section at the European Delegation to Lebanon, Mr. Rein Nieland, the Human Rights, Justice and Elections Focal Point at the EU, Mr. Samir Gharbaoui, and LEAP’s Chief Technical Advisor, Mr. Dan Radulescu.
The first day of the workshop focused on introducing both institutions and the correlation between the two judiciary bodies. In addition, the Constitutional Council and the Mexican Electoral Tribunal talked in general about the role of each institution in the recent elections held in both countries in 2018.
The second day started with discussions on the role of the electoral justice in the contemporary democracies, and went into the details of the electoral resolutions, i.e. how both bodies solve the challenges received following the elections in Lebanon and Mexico. Furthermore, the participants explored cooperation opportunities in the area of capacity building in line with the programs of the judiciary school in Mexico.
At the end of the workshop, Magistrates Rodriguez and de la Mata invited the Constitutional Council to participate in the Global Network of Electoral Justice which is an international forum that brings together members of tribunals, courts and judicial electoral bodies from across the world.
UNDP LEAP is funded by EU and USAID.