Free and fair elections – that was the discussion that lead participants through its second day of BRIDGE training. Facilitators started the day by covering why electoral observation missions are moving away from the commonly used term of “free and fair” in favour of “the will of the people” and some of the metrics used to evaluate if elections are credible according to International Electoral Standards.
What the criteria are for credible elections, electoral systems, and how votes are used to decide who the elected representatives are (plurality, majoritarian, and proportional representation systems) rounded out the day, leaving participants with not only a lot of new knowledge, but many new concepts to think about.
Tomorrow training will cover statutory dates and the logistics of delivering elections. Check back for more updates on this first in Canada electoral training.