The Coalition of Ethiopian Civil Society Organizations for Elections (CECOE) comprises over 175 civil society organizations operating across all regional states and the two city administrations. CECOE was established in 2019 to augment and coordinate the roles of Ethiopian CSOs in election observation, monitoring, voter education, and the prevention of post-electoral conflicts.
CECOE has a proven track record of success, having observed the 6th General Election of Ethiopia, the Sidama referendum, the South West Ethiopia Peoples’ Region referendum, the South Ethiopia referendum, and the referendum rerun in Wolaita Zone. CECOE has also been engaged in various advocacy activities, including advocating for electoral reforms, peacebuilding, and enhancing the participation of women in Ethiopian politics.
CECOE is currently implementing a multi-year project aimed at enhancing citizens’ engagement in human rights, democratic processes, civic rights, duties, and peacebuilding; improving the implementation of best practices among civil society; and strengthening women’s leadership in local governance. The project will be implemented in partnership with CECOE, Bright Future, and Ethiopian Women Rights Advocates (EWRA) across multiple regions of Ethiopia, through civic engagement hubs, digital learning platforms, sub-grants, training, and advocacy initiatives.
The project aims to establish six (6) Regional Civic Engagement Hubs. These Hubs will serve as dynamic resource centers for democracy promotion, human rights advocacy, e-learning, and inter-regional peacebuilding. CECOE seeks strong local CSOs to collaborate and establish “Bqu Zega’ Regional Civic Engagement Hubs”. The core, innovative approach is that these Hubs will strengthen youth participation.
Their main goal is to promote democracy, human rights, and active civic engagement among youth and the community. Crucially, they will be the physical bridge for the ‘Bqu Zega’ E-learning Platform, serving as dynamic resource centers for democracy, human rights advocacy, e-learning, and inter-regional peacebuilding.