Within the project “My Future, My Choice – Empowered Women and Girls for Transparent and Inclusive Local Elections 2025”, the Alliance – National Council for Gender Equality (NCGE) successfully implemented the two-stage cycle of trainings on election education and monitoring of local elections from 10 to 12 September 2025 and from 7 to 8 October 2025. The trainings were intended for future election observers, and the goal of the trainings was to strengthen the knowledge and capacities of women for active participation in the electoral process and gender-sensitive election monitoring. The first part of the trainings, which took place in September 2025, focused on the basics of the electoral process and electoral system in the Republic of North Macedonia, identifying obstacles arising from the electoral system, statistical data on women's participation in elections, integrating gender aspects into election observation, strategies for increasing women's participation, as well as recognizing different forms of electoral irregularities and gender-based electoral violence. The second part of the training, which took place in October 2025, was specialized, with an emphasis on the principles and methodology of election observation, identifying irregularities and practical preparation for election day.
During the trainings, the participants expressed their satisfaction with the knowledge they gained during the training.
“The training for monitoring local elections was a wonderful experience filled with new knowledge and positive energy. I had the opportunity to learn a lot about the electoral process and gain experience that will be of great use to me in the future,” said Albana Ramadani, an observer in the municipality of Aračinovo.
“This was an excellent initiative of the National Council for Gender Equality, which provided practical familiarization with the electoral process. I especially appreciate the contribution of the representatives of the State Election Commission, who conveyed their knowledge in a clear and understandable manner. I hope that in the future younger women will have the opportunity to participate in such trainings,” added Simona Vidoevska, an observer in the municipality of Saraj.
In addition to the knowledge, the participants also expressed their satisfaction with the mutual networking and encouragement for further action.
“The election monitoring training allowed me to gain new knowledge, but also to connect with women with the same vision for fair and inclusive elections. This experience motivates me to continue, to contribute even more to equality and transparency in the electoral process,” said Matea Anisic, an observer in the municipality of Ilinden.
“We sincerely thank the organizers and lecturers for their energy, experience and support that motivated us to be more active and confident in promoting gender equality and fair representation of women. Thanks to their inspiring approach, we gained practical skills and strong motivation to continue contributing to a more inclusive and just society,” said Nermin Braimi, an observer in the municipality of Aracinovo.
The trainings were conducted by a team of experts and representatives of the State Election Commission, and the participants were selected through a public call published on the NSRD social networks. During the selection, as much as possible, attention was paid to ensuring that the participants were residents of the targeted municipalities covered by the project. During the second part of the trainings, a plan was developed for their engagement on election day, during which the participants were distributed according to the municipalities where they would conduct the monitoring. The implementation of these trainings contributed to increasing women's participation in electoral processes, raising public awareness of gender equality in politics and ensuring a gender-sensitive approach to election monitoring.
"My Future, My Choice - Empowered Women and Girls for Transparent and Inclusive Local Elections 2025" is a project implemented by the Alliance - National Council for Gender Equality, Skopje. This project is a sub-grant received within the "EU Support to the Civil Society Resource Centre - Phase 2" funded by the European Union.
