The Asian Network for Free Elections (ANFREL) and the Philippine Commission on Elections (COMELEC) signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on 16 May 2025 for the co-hosting of the seventh Asian Electoral Stakeholder Forum (AESF-VII) in Manila in 2026.

After initial discussions, ANFREL and COMELEC officially forged the partnership paving the way for the preparations for AESF-VII which is tentatively set for March 2026. The MOU was signed by COMELEC chairman George Erwin Garcia and ANFREL chairperson Rohana Hettiarachchi and was witnessed by COMELEC commissioner Nelson Celis and ANFREL executive director Brizza Rosales.

AESF is a platform which promotes effective and transparent collaboration, shares best practices, and addresses common challenges in electoral processes. AESF, organized in partnership with EMBs, has taken place in Bangkok, Thailand (2012), Dili, Timor-Leste (2015), Bali, Indonesia (2016), Colombo, Sri Lanka (2018), Online (2020), and Kathmandu, Nepal (2023).

During the event, ANFREL also formally presented the initial findings of the ANFREL international election observation mission to the 2025 Philippine national and local elections. Earlier that day, ANFREL released the interim report of its IEOM to the 2025 Philippine elections.

The COMELEC said they are open to the assessment of election observer groups like ANFREL and look forward to AESF-VII as an opportunity to share experiences and learn from the expertise of various electoral stakeholders in Asia and beyond. ###