Civil society organizations dealing with a wide range of issues — such as democratic development, women’s empowerment, legal reform, human rights, civic education, governance and rights for people with disabilities — have a stake in an EMB’s activities. Regular consultation with these stakeholders, as is practised in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ghana and South Africa, directly advises the EMB of their specific needs and provides a forum for discussing and publicizing the EMB’s programmes in their support. EMBs may also build positive relationships with CSOs by using them as partners to implement electoral activities, e.g. training temporary electoral staff, or voter education and information programmes. Some EMBs include civil society representatives; in Timor-Leste, for example, the membership must include three civil society representatives (see case study).
