Arsene Gbaguidi: ¡°UN electoral support is about empowering citizens¡±
In this Expert Take conversation, the Director of MINUSCA¡¯s Electoral Division, Arsene Gbaguidi unpacks the various types of electoral assistance the UN provides. He also shares examples of challenges and gains, including boosting participation by women and young people in elections.
Question: When a government asks the UN to help with an election, how does that actually work? How does the UN team up with national institutions and partners and what kind of activities do they do?
Arsene Gbaguidi: When a government reaches out for UN support in an election, it usually comes through a formal request, either under a Security Council or General Assembly mandate, or directly from the government itself. From the start, the UN sticks to some basic principles: respecting the country¡¯s sovereignty, staying politically neutral, and making sure everything lines up with international standards.
The support can take a few different shapes, such as:
- Technical and legal advice: helping shape the rules and processes.
- Training election workers: for polling stations to run smoothly.
- Electoral observation: sending observers or technical experts.
- Logistics support: getting ballots, equipment, and materials where they need to go.
- Security support: especially when there¡¯s a peacekeeping mission in place.
We also push hard for gender equality and human rights, protecting people¡¯s right to vote and stand for elections, ensuring freedom of expression and movement, and fighting discrimination in all its forms.
Question: Can you share specific examples of support you¡¯ve seen or provided in recent elections? What were the biggest challenges?
Arsene Gbaguidi: In the Central African Republic (CAR), MINUSCA worked closely with national security forces to protect and deliver electoral materials to all 6,700 polling stations across the country. We also helped secure those stations on election day.
One of the biggest challenges we faced was making sure the elections were peaceful and credible, especially because it was the first time four different elections were happening on the same day, presidential, parliamentary, regional, and municipal.
As Director of the Electoral Division, I worked hand in hand with mission leadership and national authorities to tackle political, security, funding, and logistics hurdles.
We got calls from candidates asking for help with real issues that mattered: One opposition leader reached out because polling officials were turning away voters who didn¡¯t have a voter card, even though they had other valid ID. I immediately got in touch with the Chairman of the Electoral Commission, and together we issued a clarification: voters with valid ID can take part. That was a huge relief for people who¡¯d been left confused and frustrated.
A woman casts her ballot at a polling station in the Central African Republic during the country¡¯s presidential and parliamentary elections. Credit: MINUSCA
Question: You¡¯ve talked about gender equality and youth participation. How does that work in practice?
Arsene Gbaguidi: Historically, women, young people, and persons with disabilities have been less represented at the polls, often because of social barriers, insecurity, and lack of information. In the CAR, we teamed up with UN Women on a project to tackle these issues head-on.
We focused on three big areas:
- Legal and policy reform, updating laws and the electoral code to boost participation by women and young people.
- Public outreach and civic education, running awareness campaigns with 28 community radio stations and town criers, and even setting up an election hotline where women and youth could report gender-based violence, threats, or discrimination.
- Direct candidate support, helping women design campaign plans and understand their rights, including legal options if disputes arise.
The results speak for themselves: in the December 2025 elections in CAR, women¡¯s participation rose significantly. Nearly half of all voters were women, according to figures from the National Election Authority. At the end of the day, UN electoral support is about empowering citizens, supporting fair competition, and helping countries build electoral systems that are open, inclusive, and trusted by all.
A poll worker loads electoral materials onto a UN aircraft for distribution to remote areas. Credit: MINUSCA