Dear Readers

This year marks the 15th anniversary of the establishment of the Association of Central and Eastern European Election Officials (ACEEEO). The Association has considered it appropriate to celebrate this anniversary with a publication presenting the developments that have taken place in the region during the last 15 years. Therefore, it is a unique opportunity to welcome our readers here on the pages of the ACEEEO jubilee publication.
I must also mention the great personal pleasure it has given me, to hold the post of Secretary General of the ACEEEO for 15 years. It is a major task to summarize our years of effort and to give a concise picture of our Association. The first five years was about strengthening the subsistence of the ACEEEO and to prove its importance and necessity. The second five years was about building relations and recruiting new members from the region. Finally, the last five years were dedicated to searching for international connections, finding partners from all over the world and utilizing fully the advantages of these relations.
At the beginning, election experts from Central and Eastern Europe organised a conference in Budapest, Hungary, in 1991, at the initiative and with the support of the International Foundation for Election Systems (IFES). At that time representatives from 6 countries signed the protocol and expressed their will to establish such an organization. This was the birth of our Association. Since then 15 years have passed. As years went by, the ACEEEO has enrolled 22 institutional members from Central and Eastern Europe.
This jubilee book summarizes our 15 years, the aims and results obtained so far. Our aim was to show where the ACEEEO started from and where it has arrived to and also, to describe the stages and steps we accomplished. Our institutional members contributed to the success of this book by preparing a report on their election systems and the election history of the member states in the passed period since the political transformation. Within the frame of this publication we introduce to you our 22 member states, the main and significant stages of the Association and important facts about the ACEEEO.
When the ACEEEO was established our region was on its way towards democracy. On the basis of the last 15 years' experiences we consider that it is time to become an Association of Election Officials without any regional limitation.


Dr Zoltán Tóth
Secretary General

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Dear Readers

On behalf of IFES, it is a pleasure to congratulate the Board of Directors and the Members of the Association of Central and Eastern European Election Officials (ACEEEO) on the occasion of your 15th Anniversary. IFES salutes ACEEEO for your 15 years of remarkable achievement.

ACEEEO began in August 1991, with the founding conference in Budapest, Hungary under the leadership of Dr. Zoltan Toth, former State Secretary of the Ministry of the Interior and former Director of the Electoral Office. He also had the strong support of the Government of Hungary and many individuals such as Dr. Marta Dezso, Dr. Janos Nemeth, Dr. Istvan Zsuffa and Dr. Pal Kara. The ACEEEO would not have been possible without the hard work and vision of all of these people and the founder of IFES, F. Clifton White. Mr. White firmly believed that the best way to encourage the growth of democracy was to encourage the free flow of information and ideas. He believed that building regional networks of election officials was the best way to advance the field of election administration.
Over the years ACEEEO has grown from the original six founding countries to more than 22 member countries. In addition to this year 's historic conference in Latvia, the Association has held annual international conferences in Albania, Bulgaria, Croatia, Hungary, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, Ukraine, and United Kingdom. Throughout the years the ACEEEO has helped to advance the field of elections and election administration across the globe.
ACEEEO created the election documentation center in Budapest in 1992 and in 2000 ACEEEO hired its first full time professional staff members who are working very hard for the association. ACEEEO has implemented vital training programs in election administration for election officials in places such as Bosnia-Herzegovina and Kosovo and has organized international election observation missions to a number of countries.
IFES salutes all of the former and current presidents and members of the ACEEEO Board for their efforts to advance the work of ACEEEO. We acknowledge the important role the association has played in reaching out and helping establish electoral associations in Asia, Africa and Western Europe. In 2005 the ACEEEO hosted election officials from around the world at the Global Election Officials Conference. IFES looks forward to working with ACEEEO for the next GEO conference in Washington, D.C. March 27-29, 2007.
IFES recognizes the Chairman of the Central Electoral Commission of Latvia, Arnis Cimdars on the great achievement of hosting the 2006 ACEEEO Conference. We extend our congratulations to ACEEEO for your tremendous achievement of celebrating your 15th anniversary. The electoral world is a much better place because of ACEEEO.


Warmest personal wishes,
Richard W. Soudriette
President, IFES
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