The African Union Commission’s Department of Political Affairs, Peace and Security (AUC-PAPS) is a central pillar of the African Union’s institutional framework, mandated to advance peace, security, democratic governance, and constitutional order across the continent.
Within this mandate, AUC-PAPS plays a key role in supporting Member States in strengthening democratic institutions, promoting credible and inclusive electoral processes, and preventing and mitigating conflict. Its work spans electoral assistance and observation, governance and human rights, as well as post-conflict reconstruction and transitional justice, contributing to a comprehensive approach to peacebuilding and democratic consolidation.
AUC-PAPS leads the implementation of continental normative frameworks, including the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance, fostering shared standards and supporting their integration into national systems through civic education and institutional capacity development. It works in close collaboration with Regional Economic Communities (RECs), Regional Mechanisms (RMs), Electoral Management Bodies (EMBs), and international partners to promote harmonised approaches, peer learning, and coordinated electoral support across Africa.
Anchored in the principles of African ownership and collective responsibility, AUC-PAPS facilitates dialogue, knowledge exchange, and policy development at both continental and regional levels. Through its activities, it contributes to strengthening institutional resilience, reinforcing democratic legitimacy, and advancing long-term stability and peace across African Union Member States.
The Department is led by Bankole Adeoye, a seasoned Nigerian diplomat with over three decades of experience in multilateral diplomacy, conflict prevention, and governance. Prior to his election to the African Union Commission, he served as Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Nigeria to the African Union and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), where he played a central role in advancing Agenda 2063 and strengthening partnerships between the AU, the United Nations, and regional economic communities. His career reflects a sustained commitment to African-led solutions, preventive diplomacy, and the promotion of democratic governance, positioning him as a key figure in shaping the continent’s peace and security architecture.
The Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (MAECI) is the main institution responsible for Italy’s foreign policy, international diplomacy, development cooperation, and relations with international organisations. Within its broader mandate, the Ministry promotes peace, security, democratic governance, human rights, and sustainable development through bilateral and multilateral partnerships. In recent years, Africa has become a strategic priority for Italian foreign policy, particularly through initiatives aimed at strengthening political dialogue, institutional cooperation, conflict prevention, and socio-economic development across the continent.
The Ministry plays an important role in supporting governance and democracy initiatives in Africa, especially through cooperation with regional organisations such as the African Union. The Ministry’s engagement is also linked to wider Italian and European priorities concerning peacebuilding, democratic stability, migration governance, and regional security. In this context, Italy has strengthened its political engagement with the African Union, including through the establishment of a Permanent Representative to the AU in Addis Ababa and through initiatives connected to the Piano Mattei for Africa.
Through this support, the Ministry contributes to strengthening electoral integrity, democratic governance, conflict prevention, and peacebuilding efforts across Africa. Its funding, through the Pro-Electoral Integrity project, of which AAEA is an associated partner, has enabled the organisation of continental forums of Electoral Management Bodies (EMBs) and peer-learning missions.
More broadly, MAECI ensures political and financial backing for AU-led electoral and governance initiatives, reinforcing cooperation between Italy, the African Union, and regional African institutions in line with shared objectives related to democracy, stability, and long-term peace on the continent.
The European Centre for Electoral Support (ECES) is an independent, non partisan neutral and not for profit Foundation headquartered in Brussels with a global remit. ECES was established at the end of 2010 by the initiative of Fabio Bargiacchi, till today serving as its Executive Director. ECES has implemented activities already in more than 50 countries, mainly, but not only, in Africa and Middle East, and primarily with funding from the European Union (EU) and EU Member states.
ECES promotes electoral and democratic strengthening through the provision of advisory services, operational support via innovative project and financial management methodologies. In their activities ECES mainstream capacity and leadership development using peer exchanges and comparative experiences to promote dialogue and the prevention and mitigation of electoral conflicts. ECES has crafted and copyrighted its strategy called "A European Response to Electoral Cycle Support - EURECS", which is implemented via other specific methodologies and tools that makes a total of 22 copyrights. EURECS is an innovative delivery mechanism to implement electoral and democracy assistance activities that are consistent primarily with European values and EU policies targeting the facilitation of cooperation on electoral matters between the EU, the EU member states and their partner countries.
ECES has obtained the Tcertification and ISO 9001 certifications for their financial transparency and for our quality management system. They implement their activities via a truly international, multicultural and multilingual personnel. With individuals with at least 60 different nationalities who can work in at least 30 languages they are as diverse as the electoral stakeholders they cooperate with worldwide. This native insight and their innovator spirit make them better electoral assistance implementors and helped them foster strong relationships also because they can communicate and work in many languages and therefore understand many cultures. ECES implemented, with other partners, on behalf of the EU the European Resource for Mediation Support (ERMES) project, a strategic tool for the EU’s role in mediation and dialogue, to which ECES provided the key expertise. The office of the project was situated within our HQ.
ECES is also a proud member of both the European Peacebuilding Liaison Office (EPLO) network and the Team Europe Democracy (TED) Initiative, reflecting its commitment to contributing to broader European and international efforts in the fields of peacebuilding, conflict prevention, democratic governance, and democratic resilience. EPLO is the leading independent European platform bringing together more than 50 civil society organizations, NGO networks, and think tanks working on peacebuilding, mediation, dialogue facilitation, and crisis prevention, while the TED Initiative represents a global European Union framework aimed at strengthening cooperation and synergies among EU institutions, EU Member States, implementing partners, not-for-profit foundations such as ECES, civil society organizations, academia, and other democracy-support actors worldwide. Within these frameworks, ECES contributes its operational expertise in electoral assistance, peer learning, capacity development, and democratic governance support developed through activities implemented across Africa, the Middle East, Latin America, and other partner regions.