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European Response to Electoral Cycle Support in Ethiopia phase II (EURECS II)

The EU in Ethiopia supports democratic development and governance, including good governance, democracy, the rule of law, human rights and peacebuilding. Strengthening independent and sustainable democratic institutions and processes is a key area of this support.

Building on EURECS I and other projects, EURECS II, implemented through ECES, aims to strengthen transparency, credibility and public confidence in the electoral process and in the National Election Board of Ethiopia (NEBE). It also supports civil society organisations to play a credible role in elections. Since April 2025, the project has supported NEBE through capacity-building initiatives and strengthened the CECOE platform and other CSOs in election observation, civic and voter education, and outreach to groups that may face barriers to participation, including youth and first-time voters

Bringing Election Information Together: The 2026 Election Situation Room
© European Union

Objectives

EURECS II aims to strengthen transparency, credibility and public confidence in Ethiopia’s electoral process through support to NEBE, CECOE and other electoral stakeholders. More specifically, the project seeks to:

• Strengthen NEBE’s capacity to conduct elections at all levels and apply lessons learned from 2021 in preparation for the 2026 General Election and local elections.

• Strengthen domestic election observation.

 • Increase participation of groups facing barriers to participation, including internally displaced persons (IDPs), persons with disabilities (PWDs), people who are illiterate, women candidates, youth and first-time voters.

Project Activities

Provide IT support to NEBE.

• Support the creation and set-up of NEBE regional offices, including existing regional offices.

• Build capacities by delivering Leadership and Conflict Management Skills for Electoral Stakeholders (LEAD) to NEBE, CSOs and other stakeholders; support electoral dispute resolution (EDR) and alternative dispute resolution (ADR) mechanisms; and train civil society organisations on EDR.

• Organise peer-to-peer exchanges with members of other regional election management bodies and among regional, zonal and constituency offices.

• Support training for poll workers.

• Support NEBE in establishing media and social media monitoring.

• Support electoral dispute settlement and the legal framework for dispute resolution.

• Establish a sustainable civic and voter education framework for NEBE.

• Train CSO observers and support civil society organisations in deploying long-term observers.

• Set up the Election Situation Room and a media-monitoring unit.

• Support civic education and voter information tailored to youth, vulnerable groups and first-time voters.

• NEBE has stronger capacity to conduct effective elections and to manage, monitor and communicate with its regional branches and field staff.

• NEBE and key stakeholders have stronger capacities to promote a level playing field and help mitigate electoral violence.

• Leading civil society organisations have stronger capacity to observe and report effectively on all electoral processes, including mid-cycle events and local elections.

• Vulnerable groups and first-time voters have greater awareness of how to obtain the credentials needed to register and how to vote, including through civic and voter education.