Michael Gahler is a Member of the European Parliament, Committee on Foreign Affairs, the Delegation for relations with South Africa, the Delegation to the OACPS-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly, and the Delegation to the Africa-EU Parliamentary Assembly. He is also a substitute member of the Committee on Security and Defence, the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs, and the Delegation for relations with the Pan-African Parliament.

Nacho Sanchez Amor has been a Member of the European Parliament since 2019. He is a member of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, the Subcommittee on Human Rights, the Delegation to the EU-Türkiye Joint Parliamentary Committee, and the Delegation to the Euronest Parliamentary Assembly. Nacho is actively involved in the EP´s democracy support and election observation efforts. Member of the EP’s Democracy and Election Group (DEG), he has been the leading member for the organization of the DoP Implementation Meeting of 2022 and internal reflection processes on election observation. He has an extensive experience in international policy, human rights and election observation -having conducted more than 25 EU, EP and ODIHR election observation missions, several of them as chief observer.

Stefanie Schiffer is the Founder and Director of European Exchange gGmbH in Berlin and serves as Chair of the Board of the European Platform for Democratic Elections (EPDE). Stefanie Schiffer studied Slavonic languages and Eastern European history in Tübingen, Kyiv and Munich. She has broad experience in international democracy support with a focus on the EU's eastern neighbourhood. She is a founding member of the EU-Russia Civil Society Forum, the European Platform for Democratic Elections (EPDE), the Kyiv Dialogue, the association "Human Rights in Belarus" and the Plattform Wahlen. She has been a member and advisor to various political and philanthropic foundations as filia - Frauenstiftung, Heinrich-Böll Stiftung e.V., Free Media Awards of ZEIT Stiftung and Fritt Ord Foundation and to the Marion Dönhoff Stiftung. She has been participant and co-organiser of numerous international and domestic civil society election observation missions and has developed tools for the protection of the integrity of elections.

Michael McNamara is a Member of the European Parliament. He is Vice-Chair of the Delegation for relations with the countries of South Asia and a member of the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs. He is also a substitute member of the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy and the Delegation to the EU-UK Parliamentary Partnership Assembly.

Raquel García Hermida-van der Walle is a Member of the European Parliament, Delegation for relations with Afghanistan, the Conference of Delegation Chairs, the Committee on Regional Development, the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs, and the Delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Union for the Mediterranean. She is also a substitute member of the Committee on Women's Rights and Gender Equality and the Delegation for relations with the Maghreb countries and the Arab Maghreb Union, including the EU-Morocco, EU-Tunisia and EU-Algeria Joint Parliamentary Committees.

Plamena Halacheva has headed the European External Action Service’s Division for Democracy and Electoral Observation since 1 September 2026. Over the past fifteen years, she has worked extensively on EU external policy, with a particular focus on the EU integration of the Western Balkans. She has held several assignments across the region, most recently as Deputy Head of the EU Delegation to Serbia from 2022 to 2026. Prior to her posting in Belgrade, she served in the Democracy, Rule of Law and Equality Division of the Secretariat-General of the European Commission.

Marie-Hélène Boulanger is Head of the Democracy, Anti-Corruption, Citizenship Rights and Free Movement Unit at the European Commission in Brussels. She began her career in the field of data protection at the University of Namur. She then spent five years at the Belgian Data Protection Authority, two of which years as its Secretary and head of service. From there, she joined Directorate-General Internal Market of the European Commission as a national expert at the data protection unit, then moving to the Directorate General of in charge of Justice and Home affairs, where she was responsible for the legal team of the unit responsible for large scale IT systems and also specialised in the policy aspects of the Schengen Information System. From 2009 to 2014, she headed the data protection unit in charge, among others of the reform of EU data protection law. From 2014, she was the head of the unit in charge of citizenship rights and free movement, delivering the Commission’s priorities to support free movement in the coronavirus pandemic through the EU digital Covid certificates, monitoring the implementation of the EU-UK withdrawal agreement, leading proposals in the field of democracy and electoral integrity, including political advertising and the participation rights of mobile EU citizens and the Recommendation against SLAPPs, as well as the many priorities set out in the EU citizenship report, such as improvements to how consular protection rights are implemented, and a common format for EU Member State ID cards.

Kseniya Dashutsina serves as a Senior Election Advisor at ODIHR, where she specializes in various thematic areas, including campaign finance, electoral dispute resolution, and gender issues. Kseniya has commenced her work with ODIHR as Election Advisor and a desk officer responsible for a portfolio of countries, including Bulgaria, Cyprus, Georgia, Hungary, Russian Federation, Romania, Serbia, Sweden and Uzbekistan. Prior to her role at ODIHR Headquarters, Kseniya contributed to multiple election observation missions for ODIHR, the Carter Center, and the National Democratic Institute, working as a Legal Analyst in numerous countries across the OSCE region and Africa.

Since January 2020, Ulvi has served as Deputy Head of the Election Department at ODIHR, where he oversees the administration, operational planning, and implementation of election-related support to OSCE participating States. His work is focused on improving democratic processes through election observation missions and technical assistance.

Patrick Merloe has over 40 years of expertise in promoting citizen empowerment, governmental accountability, and public policy advocacy. He previously served as NDI’s senior associate and director of electoral programs from 1993 to 2022. Throughout his career, he has participated in over 190 international missions to more than 65 countries, focusing on political rights, electoral integrity, and democratic development. Mr. Merloe played a key role in drafting and negotiating the Declaration of Principles for International Election Observation, which has been endorsed by over 50 international organizations. Additionally, he facilitated the process that resulted in the Declaration of Global Principles for nonpartisan election monitoring by citizen organizations, which was promulgated by the Global Network of Domestic Election Monitors (GNDEM) and endorsed by over 290 organizations from more than 85 countries.

Vardine Grigoryan is Program Manager at the Helsinki Citizens’ Assembly – Vanadzor, where she has been working since 2011. She was instrumental in establishing and leading the work of Independent Observer Public Alliance one of the largest election observer coalitions in Armenia. Ms. Grigoryan has participated in several CSO election observation missions abroad and led over a dozen large missions domestically, and is one of the key electoral experts in Armenia. Vardine Grigoryan holds master’s in public administration from Ohio University, USA.

Dr. Beata Martin-Rozumiłowicz is an Electoral Expert with more than two decades of election observation experience globally. She has most recently served as Deputy Head of Mission for the OSCE/ODIHR EOM to Moldova (2025). She has also been Deputy Chief Observer on EU EOMs to Zimbabwe (2023), Kenya (2022), and The Gambia (2021/2022). Previously, she was Director for Europe and Eurasia at IFES (2016-21) and also headed (first deputised) OSCE/ODIHR’s Election Department (2009-16). Over the past four years, she has been an independent electoral consultant, working with EU, EODS, EPD, OSCE/ODIHR, UNDP, USAID, and the Westminster Foundation for Democracy (WFD). Beata has recently co-authored a special edition on new political party assistance strategies with Policy Studies. She’s also published on issues of election observation, technology in elections, disinformation, political/electoral developments, media reform, and political/campaign finance. She holds a D.Phil. (Ph.D.) and a M.Phil. (Masters) in Politics from the University of Oxford and was research fellow for Oxford’s Programme in Comparative Media Law and Policy (1999-2000).

Nicolae Panfil is an active advocate for free and fair elections from the Republic of Moldova, with an extensive experience at the national and international level, both in planning and coordination of various programs oriented towards monitoring of elections, but also other democratic processes & reforms. Since April 2021 Mr. Panfil serves as a Director of the Monitoring Democratic Processes Program at Promo-LEX Association. Previously, he worked as a Program Coordinator at Promo-LEX (2013-2021) and as a Secretary of the Civic Coalition for Free and Fair Elections from Moldova (2009-2016).

Anthony DeMattee joined The Carter Center in 2022. His responsibilities include developing standards and best practices around election technologies and campaign finance, media literacy, and social media analyses. He also supports the Center’s special initiatives by creating research designs that integrate many data types for valid and reliable measurement and credible causal inference. He has extensive experience working with NGOs and governments in the Global South on programs emphasizing democratic governance, rule of law, and human rights. DeMattee is formerly a National Science Foundation Postdoctoral Research Fellow for Fundamental Research. He completed his joint Ph.D. in public policy from Indiana University, specializing in comparative politics, public policy, and public administration.

Holly Ruthrauff is a Brussels-based independent elections analyst who has been active in the field of elections support since 1998. She works with various international organizations to improve the conduct of elections in line with international standards and to enhance the practice of election observation. She joins observer missions, develops handbooks for both international and domestic observers, conducts observer trainings and provides technical assistance to domestic observer efforts.

Jorge leads the Political Integrity work at the Transparency International Secretariat in Berlin. Before joining TI, Jorge held several positions at International IDEA, heading the Myanmar and Panama programmes, as well as the Global Political Participation Programme (2016-2018). Jorge was part of the team that spearheaded a global campaign for the adoption of UNCAC CoSP Resolution 11/7 on preventing corruption in political funding.

Robert Lech has been working as a Core Team member and short- and long-term observer for over 20 years during election observation missions organised by the EU and the OSCE/ODIHR.

Peter Mwanangombe is a Zambian elections and electoral governance specialist with over 11 years of national and regional experience in electoral processes, election observation, legal and policy analysis, and electoral reform. He serves as Program Director at the Christian Churches Monitoring Group (CCMG), where he provides strategic leadership in electoral process monitoring, evidence-based advocacy, and initiatives aimed at strengthening electoral integrity and democratic governance. Peter has played a substantive role in Zambia’s electoral reform agenda. His national-level contributions include serving on the Technical Committee on the Implementation of Voting Rights for Persons in Lawful Custody and as Deputy Spokesperson of the Electoral Reform Technical Committee. He holds a Master’s degree in Electoral Policy and Administration and brings extensive practical and policy experience to advancing credible, inclusive, accountable, and rights-based electoral processes in Zambia and the wider region.

Marcus A. Ageng’a is a Elections, Governance, Climate and Human Rights expert with over 14 years cumulative experience in electoral and climate governance and capacity building and program management. He is currently the Head of Programs at Elections Observation Group (ELOG) in charge of governance and electoral processes in Kenya and the East and Horn of Africa Region. He is also a part time lecturer teaching elections, democracy and human rights at various learning institutions. At ELOG which is also the permanent secretariat for E-HORN, he coordinates programs and projects that promote democratic, peaceful and credible elections in Kenya and the E-HORN region through supporting and strengthening domestic election observer groups, Elections Management Bodies, Election duty bearers and institutions. He holds Master’s Degree in Human Rights from the University of Nairobi and a Master’s Degree of Arts from Duquesne University (USA) and is a PhD candidate at the University of Nairobi with his doctoral thesis focusing on “Assessing The Effectiveness of Climate Change Policy, Legal, and Institutional Frameworks In Kenya: A Longitudinal Analysis of Climate Governance between 1992–2025.

Dr. Kojo Asante was appointed Director of Policy Engagement and Partnerships at CDD-Ghana in 2018. Kojo has over 21 years’ experience in promoting democracy, elections integrity, rule of law and anti-corruption in Ghana and in Africa. A legal policy and governance specialist, Kojo directs the Political Governance, Rule of Law, Accountability and Anti-Corruption Cluster at CDD including projects focused on promoting election integrity, addressing monetization of politics, anti-corruption, constitutional and local government reforms. He oversees the Secretariats for the Coalition of Domestic Election Observers (CODEO) in Ghana, the West African Election Observers Network (WAEON), serves on the Steering Committee of AfEONET, the Coordinating Committee of Global Network of Domestic Election Monitors (GNDEM). He was also recently tasked with overseeing CDD’s new International Desk focused on research and analysis of global players in Africa and implication for democratic governance. Kojo holds a Ph.D. in Development Policy and Management from the University of Manchester (U.K.)., a Master of Arts degree in Africana Studies from the State University of New York, Albany, NY. A trained barrister, Kojo is a member of the Ghana Bar Association, the Bar of England and Wales, and the Honorable Society of Gray’s Inn, England. Kojo was a Hewlett Fellow at the Weatherhead Center for International Affairs, Harvard University. He has also consulted for international organisations like Overseas Development Institute, Adam Smith International, Commonwealth Secretariat and Basel Institute on Governance.

Mrs. Rindai Chipfunde Vava is an elections and democratic governance expert with over twenty five years of professional practice supporting electoral processes across Africa. She has worked extensively with election management bodies, civil society organisations and regional observer networks, providing technical leadership, advisory support and institutional capacity strengthening across the entire electoral cycle. Through her long standing work in electoral capacity building, Mrs. Vava has made significant contributions to advancing inclusive and accessible elections. She has facilitated numerous Building Resources in Democracy, Governance and Elections (BRIDGE) Disability Rights and Elections workshops, working with electoral authorities and civil society organisations to enhance the meaningful participation of persons with disabilities. Her work promotes a rights based approach to electoral inclusion, with a strong focus on accessibility and equal participation. Mrs. Chipfunde Vava is an accredited BRIDGE Accrediting Facilitator and a Leadership and Conflict Management Skills (LEAD) Trainer with the European Centre for Electoral Support (ECES). She has designed and delivered a wide range of capacity building programmes covering election administration, election observation, civic and voter education, results management and electoral dispute resolution. Notably, she contributed as a consultant to the 2026 update and reintroduction of the BRIDGE Electoral Observation Module, a process led by the United Nations DPPA Electoral Assistance Division.

Peter Erben is one of the world’s leading democracy champions, with three decades of contributions around the world, and among the few internationals ever called upon to direct national elections in other countries. He was, for example, the Chief Electoral Officer of Kosovo and Afghanistan. Over the past decades, Peter has led democracy, governance, and electoral initiatives in more than 30 countries, including Bosnia & Herzegovina, the Palestinian Territories, Syria, Pakistan, Myanmar, Nepal, Indonesia, and Ukraine. Today, he is the global Principal Advisor of the International Foundation for Electoral System (IFES) and works out of Kyiv. In 2008, Peter was knighted for his contribution to advancing freedom and democracy around the world. Peter is a Danish war veteran, a regular guest speaker at Harvard and other universities, and chairs the international school in Kyiv.

Dr. Arusyak Terchanyan is a Member of the Central Electoral Commission of Armenia with extensive expertise in election administration, civic education, and political inclusion. Holding a PhD in History, she has served as an expert for the UNDP, IFES, and the Armenian Ministry of Culture. With over a decade of project leadership, Dr. Terchanyan is an accomplished author of numerous monographs and scientific papers on electoral rights, governance, and cross-cultural communication.

Dana Munteanu serves as the Secretary of the Central Electoral Commission, overseeing the organization of electoral processes and ensuring the proper functioning of electoral lists. She manages the administrative operations of the Commission, including the department responsible for maintaining electoral lists. With experience in various roles within the Commission since 2012, she has developed extensive expertise in electoral administration. Additionally, she holds the qualification of certified trainer in electoral matters, contributing to the professional training of personnel involved in electoral processes. Her work focuses on ensuring compliance with legal frameworks and the effective management of electoral operations.

Josef Lentsch is the Founder and CEO of Partisan, the community for political professionals, as well as Europe’s first Political Tech Summit and Political Communication Summit. From 2019-2023, he was Partner and Chief Innovation Officer at the Innovation in Politics Institute, where he initiated the European Capital of Democracy. In 2012, he was a co-founder and founding board member of NEOS, a political party in Austria. In 2014, he became Founding Director of NEOS Lab, the party’s think and do tank. Before that, he worked as Director International at the Royal Society of Arts in London. In 2019, Springer published his book “Political Entrepreneurship”. Josef lives in Berlin with his family. He holds an MSc in Psychology from the University of Vienna, and an MPA in Public Administration from Harvard University.

Tomaso leads Privacy International’s global policy engagement. He develops the organisation’s international advocacy with the UN, the EU, and other relevant intergovernmental bodies. Previously he worked for Child Soldiers International and for Amnesty International’s International Secretariat, in the International Law and Policy Program, where he was legal and policy advisor. His main responsibilities included providing advice on international human rights and humanitarian law, drafting intervention before human rights courts and bodies and representing the organization in meetings of UN human rights law experts. Tomaso is an Italian lawyer and has a Law Degree from the Law College in Ferrara (Italy).

Henry Muguzi is a leading African expert on democratic governance, political finance transparency, and electoral integrity, with over two decades of experience working with civil society organisations and international development partners. He is the Executive Director of the Alliance for Finance Monitoring (ACFIM) and Coordinator of the African Election Observers Network (AfEONet), where he spearheads initiatives to strengthen accountability, protect civic space, and advance democratic reforms. Henry widely recognised for his pioneering work on promoting political finance transparency in Africa.

Zosia Lutkiewicz is a democracy and civil society expert focused on electoral integrity and citizen engagement across Europe and globally. As President of the Political Accountability Foundation (PAF), she leads Poland’s non-partisan election observation efforts and promotes comprehensive electoral reform. She serves on the boards of the European Platform for Democratic Elections (EPDE) and the Global Network of Domestic Election Monitors (GNDEM) where she works to tackle global threats to election integrity. Her experience advancing democracy and civil society development in Belarus, Russia, and Uzbekistan, including from the EU level, informs her strategic, values-driven approach grounded in non-partisanship, solidarity, and civic empowerment.

Alexander is a senior election expert and consultant working with national authorities and international organizations on election-related matters. He is particularly focused on legal framework for elections, oversight of political finance, and methodologies for election observation. Alexander worked for more than 10 years in the Election Department of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, from 2016 to 2021 as the Head of the Department. Recent engagements include UNDP, Council of Europe, International IDEA, IFES, IRI, NDI, and WFD. Alexander holds Masters degrees in Political Science (2007, Central European University), International Development and Management (2009, Lund University), and International Human Rights Law (2024, Oxford University).

Rasťo Kužel is a media and election expert with more than 27 years of international experience. Since 1998, he has led MEMO98, a media-monitoring organisation with extensive experience providing analysis and technical assistance to the Council of Europe, the OSCE/ODIHR, the European Parliament, and other international institutions. Over the past decade, Rasťo has focused intensively on online disinformation in the context of elections, as well as on the growing role of AI and social media and ways to mitigate their negative impact on electoral integrity. He authored the Council of Europe's media-monitoring toolkit and prepared the PACE report Elections in Times of Crisis: Challenges and Opportunities. He also co-authored the IFES White Paper on Social Media, Disinformation and Electoral Integrity and the UNESCO/UNDP guide Elections in Digital Times.

Nandor Toth is a digital campaigner and technology consultant with a degree in international politics. As the co-founder of Stateless, he has coordinated election monitoring projects across three continents, including in Venezuela, Zimbabwe, and Serbia. Stateless also provides organizations with technological solutions to counter foreign information manipulation and interference (FIMI). Before Stateless, he worked at a liberal party in Hungary as the head of data and digital communication. He is based in Berlin.

Ivan Đurić is a policy analyst at CRTA, a Serbian civil society organization working on electoral integrity, democratic transparency and the rule of law. His work combines policy analysis and international advocacy, turning CRTA's research into positions and recommendations for EU and international audiences. He is the editor of CRTA Plus, CRTA's research and analysis platform, and also the editor of Zmai. He contributes to the development of CRTA's digital tools.

Andrii Savchuk is a Senior Data Analyst at Civil Network OPORA, a leading Ukrainian think tank advancing democratic governance, elections, and justice. Active in election observation since 2012, he turns open data into evidence-based research on electoral processes, war-driven migration, and Russian disinformation in Ukraine. A strong advocate for data-driven decision-making, he trains civil society actors in R programming and authored the "Open Data for Cities" manual for civil servants and activists.

Diana Eftimova has worked with IPED since 2013 and has served as Chair of IPED’s Board since 2020. She holds a Master’s degree in International Economic Relations and a Bachelor’s degree in Insurance and Social Studies from the University of National and World Economy in Sofia. Her work focuses on electoral reform advocacy, electoral administration capacity, and promoting free and fair elections.

Elisa Parnefält Størksen is President of the European Dialogue and Democracy Association (EDDA), a Norwegian youth-led organisation working with election observation, democracy education and youth participation. She has participated in and led election observation missions across Europe, including as Head of Mission, and is actively involved in training young election observers. Elisa holds a Master’s degree in Politics and Governance of Global Challenges, with a particular academic focus on elections, democratisation and European affairs.

Oleksandr Kliuzhev is a Ukrainian expert in democratic governance, electoral reform, and post-conflict recovery with more than 20 years of professional experience. He currently serves as Advisor to the Chairperson of the Central Election Commission of Ukraine. Oleksandr contributed to the development of the Electoral Code of Ukraine, legislation on national referendums, political finance reform, the protection of voting rights of internally displaced persons, and proposals for post-war elections. He also participated in Ukraine’s preparations for EU accession negotiations and in the development of the Roadmap on the Functioning of Democratic Institutions. He has worked with OPORA Civil Network, IFES Ukraine, International IDEA, Caritas Ukraine, public institutions, and international partners. He has experience in domestic and international election observation, service on election commissions, and the training of election officials. He also has experience in public service and the management of large-scale humanitarian programmes.

Julia Brothers is the Deputy Director for Elections at NDI. She has over 20 years of experience leading electoral assessments and election reform initiatives across the globe as well as in the United States. She specializes in results verification methodologies such as PRVTs, open election data, voter registration, observer rights, and the role of new technologies in the electoral process.