Press release Ana Maria Pătru, preşedintele Autorităţii Electorale Permanente (AEP), a fost aleasă, în data de 14 octombrie 2013, membru al Comitetului Executiv al A-WEB (Association of World Election Bodies/Asociaţia Mondială a Organismelor Electorale).

On October 14, 2013, Ana Maria Pătru, the President of the Permanent Electoral Authority of Romania was elected member of the Executive Board of A-WEB (Association of World Election Bodies).

Between 14 to 17 October, a delegation of the Permanent Electoral Authority, led by Mrs. Ana Maria Pătru, attended the Inaugural Assembly of Association of World Election Bodies, and the 6^th Global Election Organization Conference (GEO).

“This day is a historical moment, not only a simple Inaugural Assembly of an international associations, that we hope it will mark the future of all member and non-member states, especially of those rising democracies”, stated the PEA President, Mrs. Ana Maria Pătru in a speech within the Inaugural Assembly of A-WEB.

Together with Republic of Korea, Dominican Republic, India and South Africa, Romania is a part of the first A-WEB Executive Committee. The Executive Committee of A-WEB consists of representatives of key regional election organizations.

“The Permanent Electoral Authority is orientated towards sharing experiences and providing expertise through an active involvement at European and international level," also stated Mrs. Ana Maria Pătru in a speech within the Inaugural Assembly of A-WEB.

According to the A-WEB Charter, the mission of the organization is to identify the latest trends, challenges and developments in electoral management and democratic electoral processes, in order to facilitate the exchange of experiences and expertise between members and to strengthen electoral democracy worldwide.

Due to the support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Permanent Electoral Authority also participated in the Knowledge Fair, organized on the occasion of the two events. Within the Knowledge Fair, the PEA delegation presented the IT applications of the Electoral Register and the Pilot Project on double voting prevention, developed by PEA on the occasion of parliamentary bye-elections in 2010.

The second event, the GEO Conference, was held under the title "Sustainable Election Processes, Strengthened Democracy" and brought together representatives of electoral management bodies from over 100 countries from Africa, Asia, Europe, South America, Central America, North America, Arab Aria, Australia. The event was also attended by the representatives of the most important global electoral organizations such as: IFES (International Foundation for Electoral Systems), UNDP (United Nations Development Program), UNEAD (United Nations Electoral Assistance Division), IDEA (Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance), IFE (Federal Electoral Institute of Mexico), TRIFE (Electoral Federal Tribunal of Mexico), etc.

Within this event, important global manufacturers and suppliers of equipment, providers of services and consultancy, specialized in electoral matters (e.g. SCYTL) had the opportunity to present their products.

Within GEO sessions, the Permanent Electoral Authority delegation was very much appreciated for its major projects that are being developed in Romania. Mr. Marian Muhuleţ, Vice-President of PEA, made a presentation entitled "National Electoral Register of Romania - Development and Role". Mr. Cristian - Alexandru Leahu, Director of Legislation, Parliament Liaison and election dispute resolution department, within PEA, presented "Developing Electoral Integrity Action Plans."

The GEO Conference marked an important moment in terms of the excellent relations that Romania has developed with different worldwide electoral professionals through PEA. Most of them favorably considered the proposal of Mexican delegation (old and important partners of Romania in the election field) regarding the idea of organizing the next 2015 GEO Conference in Bucharest. Given the benefits regarding the image on international plan, the economic and political advantages that Romania would have by organizing such an event in Bucharest, allow us to hope for all the support and collaboration of the Government and the central institutions of the Romanian state.

The GEO Conference enabled the Romanian delegation to initiate discussions on joint projects with representatives of all countries and international electoral bodies, present at the event.

The PEA Romanian delegation also included: Mr. Vice-President Marian Muhuleţ, Mr. Iulian Alexandru Ivan, Director of Electoral Control, training, and regional activity coordination department, Mr. Cristian Alexandru Leahu , Director of Legislation, Parliament Liaison and election dispute resolution department, Ms. Catalina Moraru, Senior Adviser to the President and Mr. Andrei Victor Dimitriu, Adviser to the Vice-President.