AAEA was conceived from an effort at promoting and institutionalizing professionalism of African election authorities through regional exchanges and networking. The Association grew out of a Colloquium of African Election Authorities that was held in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe, in November 1994. At the close of the meeting, participants set up a Working Group to explore the feasibility of forming an association of African election administrators and election-related NGOs.
The working group developed a draft charter and discussed it at a meeting in Cape Town in 1995, and in Windhoek in 1996. An inaugural conference of the AAEA was held from January 14th to 16th, 1997 in Kampala, Uganda. The conference was attended by election administrators and leaders of non-governmental organizations from sub-Saharan Africa, as well as international election specialists. Participants revised and approved the Charter, marking the formal establishment of the Association.
Participants in the Kampala meeting selected Dr. Amare Tekle of Eritrea as the AAEA’s Interim Executive Secretary. An Interim Executive Secretariat was established in Asmara, Eritrea, in 1997.The inaugural meeting of the AAEA General Assembly was held from August 13th to 15th, 1998 in Accra, Ghana. It was attended by election authorities and NGO leaders from sub-Saharan Africa. The following are founding members of the AAEA: Benin, Burkina Faso, Central African Republic, Gabon, Ghana, The Gambia, Guinea, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Mali, Senegal, Togo, Uganda, and Zimbabwe.
After the General Assembly held in Ghana in March 2025 the AAEA elected a new President of the Assembly of the Association of African Election Authorities (AAEA) and a new Executive committee. The presidency is held by the Electoral Commission of Ghana, the work of the Assembly is further supported by an Executive Committee composed of representatives of the Electoral Commissions from Benin, Ethiopia, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), and Libya. This governance structure ensures regional balance and collective ownership, while providing strategic direction and oversight for the activities of the Association across the continent.
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