Our Team.
Meet Our Leadership
We are proud of our committed and diverse staff.
Our Team.
Meet Our Leadership
We are proud of our committed and diverse staff.
Tadjoudine Ali-Diabacté
Chairperson
Doctor Ali-Diabacte is the former Deputy Director of the Electoral Assistance Division of the United Nations (UN) in New York from 2007 to 2016. He was Chief the Mission of the UN Panel of Experts for the self-determination referendum of New Caledonia from 2018 to 2021; Political and electoral adviser of the European Union in Niger from 2019 to 2021; Head of missions for the elections in Algeria, the general elections of the USA (2008, 2012 and 2016) and Burundi (2015). Dr. Ali-Diabacte was also Head of Electoral Needs Assessment Missions in several countries around the world and represented the UN in several electoral meetings with CARICOM, ECOWAS, African Union, Arab League, SADC, and the European Union. Prior to his posting in New York, Dr. Ali-Diabacte was the Director of Elections for the UN Mission in the Congo (MONUC) from 2003 to 2007; and Senior Technical Advisor (CTP) for UNOPS and UNDP in Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea (Conakry), Comoros, Madagascar and Chad from 1998 to 2003. Prior to joining the UN, Dr. Ali-Diabacte worked from 1991 to 1998 as Senior Electoral Adviser in collaboration with the Konrad Adenauer Foundation of Germany in West Africa and for the National Democratic Institute (NDI) of the USA in Benin, Gambia, Guinea, in Haiti, Mali and Morocco. In his country of origin, Togo, Dr. Ali-Diabacte was a teacher-researcher in Philosophy and Social Sciences at the University of Lomé from 1985 to 2000 and vice-president of the National Electoral Commission (CNE) of Togo from 1994 to 1998. Holder of a Doctorate in Philosophy from the Jean-Moulin University of Lyon III (France), and a DEA in Sociology of Education from the University of Lyon II (France).
Charlotte Kesson-Smith
Executive Director
Ms. Charlotte Kesson-Smith is a highly accomplished Ghanaian Business Lawyer, Legal and International Elections Consultant with over 28 years combined experiences in the public, private and not-for-profit sectors within and outside Ghana. Charlotte is the Founder and Managing Consultant of Cyrus Law, a modern boutique business law firm with expertise in corporate and commercial transactions, wealth management, dispute resolution, property, family-owned businesses, intellectual property protection, among others. Charlotte is a graduate of Queen’s University, Ontario Canada with a Master of Laws degree (LLM). She holds a second master’s degree in business leadership (MBL) from the University of South Africa, Pretoria; a Bachelor of Laws degree (LLB) from the University of Ghana Legon; and a Qualifying Certificate of Law (QCL) from the Ghana School of Law. She has been enrolled in Ghana as a Barrister & Solicitor of the Supreme Court since 1994.As a woman, Charlotte has shattered many glass ceilings in her professional life.
EISA Board of Directors
EISA’s board of directors consists of a diverse group of experts in the field of African elections and good governance from a wide array of backgrounds, including academia, government and non-governmental organisations, and Business.
Tadjoudine Ali-Diabacté
Chairperson
Doctor Ali-Diabacte is the former Deputy Director of the Electoral Assistance Division of the United Nations (UN) in New York from 2007 to 2016. He was Chief the Mission of the UN Panel of Experts for the self-determination referendum of New Caledonia from 2018 to 2021; Political and electoral adviser of the European Union in Niger from 2019 to 2021; Head of missions for the elections in Algeria, the general elections of the USA (2008, 2012 and 2016) and Burundi (2015). Dr. Ali-Diabacte was also Head of Electoral Needs Assessment Missions in several countries around the world and represented the UN in several electoral meetings with CARICOM, ECOWAS, African Union, Arab League, SADC, and the European Union. Prior to his posting in New York, Dr. Ali-Diabacte was the Director of Elections for the UN Mission in the Congo (MONUC) from 2003 to 2007; and Senior Technical Advisor (CTP) for UNOPS and UNDP in Côte d'Ivoire, Guinea (Conakry), Comoros, Madagascar and Chad from 1998 to 2003. Prior to joining the UN, Dr. Ali-Diabacte worked from 1991 to 1998 as Senior Electoral Adviser in collaboration with the Konrad Adenauer Foundation of Germany in West Africa and for the National Democratic Institute (NDI) of the USA in Benin, Gambia, Guinea, in Haiti, Mali and Morocco. In his country of origin, Togo, Dr. Ali-Diabacte was a teacher-researcher in Philosophy and Social Sciences at the University of Lomé from 1985 to 2000 and vice-president of the National Electoral Commission (CNE) of Togo from 1994 to 1998. Holder of a Doctorate in Philosophy from the Jean-Moulin University of Lyon III (France), and a DEA in Sociology of Education from the University of Lyon II (France).
Charlotte Kesson-Smith
Board Member & Acting Executive Director
Ms. Charlotte Kesson-Smith is a highly accomplished Ghanaian Business Lawyer, Legal and International Elections Consultant with over 28 years combined experiences in the public, private and not-for-profit sectors within and outside Ghana. Charlotte is the Founder and Managing Consultant of Cyrus Law, a modern boutique business law firm with expertise in corporate and commercial transactions, wealth management, dispute resolution, property, family-owned businesses, intellectual property protection, among others. Charlotte is a graduate of Queen’s University, Ontario Canada with a Master of Laws degree (LLM). She holds a second master’s degree in business leadership (MBL) from the University of South Africa, Pretoria; a Bachelor of Laws degree (LLB) from the University of Ghana Legon; and a Qualifying Certificate of Law (QCL) from the Ghana School of Law. She has been enrolled in Ghana as a Barrister & Solicitor of the Supreme Court since 1994.As a woman, Charlotte has shattered many glass ceilings in her professional life.
Linford Andrews
Board Member
Linford Andrews is Adviser and Head of the Electoral Support Section in the political team of the Governance and Peace Directorate at the Commonwealth Secretariat. He has more than 25 years’ experience in diplomacy, and as an international civil servant, influencing and facilitating the delivery of complex international projects and programmes. He has previously served in various capacities at the Commonwealth Secretariat, most recently as Political Adviser and Acting Head, Africa in the political team. He has also served as Deputy Conference Secretary for the 2022 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) held in Rwanda, and previously as Deputy Head of the Office of the Commonwealth Secretary-General, Interim Head of the Office of the Commonwealth Deputy Secretary-General, and as an Adviser for the Commonwealth Electoral Network (CEN). He has also supported the development of Commonwealth strategic and operational approaches to the development, promotion and implementation of conflict prevention and resolution strategies, and has also delivered critical support to Commonwealth Observer Missions in various political environments across member countries in Africa, Asia, the Caribbean and Pacific. Linford is a former South African diplomat, having joined the South African Foreign Service during the political transition at the end of the apartheid years in 1993, and has served on diplomatic postings in Jakarta (1996 – 2000) and New Delhi (2002 – 2003).
Denis Kadima
Board Member
Denis K. Kadima has been the President of the Independent National Electoral Commission (CENI) of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) since October 2021. He has successfully managed the country’s national, provincial, and local elections in December 2023 as well as senatorial and gubernatorial elections in 2024.
Mr. KADIMA was EISA’s Executive Director for nearly 20 years, over the period from 2002 to 2021. He has participated in a hundred electoral and political processes around the world in different capacities. Under his leadership, EISA extended its reach across the continent with significant continental (AU and Pan-African Parliament) and sub-regional (SADC, ECOWAS, ECCAS, the EAC and the ICGLR) and national programmes in support for electoral integrity and democracy building, working with electoral management bodies, civil society organisations, political parties, parliaments, local governance institutions and other electoral and democracy actors. He secured major funding which contributed to EISA’s geographical and thematic expansion.
In July 2010, he worked as the Director of the United Nations Referendum and Electoral Division, providing much-appreciated technical assistance in the context of South Sudan's self-determination referendum. In 2011, he was deployed as the Senior Technical Advisor for UNDP elections in Tunisia and helped launch preparations for the first post-Arab Spring elections in the North Africa-Middle East region. Mr. KADIMA has also worked as Regional Expert for the US-based National Democratic Institute (NDI) in Namibia and Resident Director in Lesotho. Long before that, he was a bank officer and later a bank manager at Banque Commerciale du Congo (Equity BCDC).
Mr. KADIMA has twenty publications on electoral processes and political party systems in Africa. He is the founder of the Journal of African Elections. Mr. KADIMA holds a master’s degree in political science from the University of the Witwatersrand (Johannesburg, South Africa), a post-graduate degree in Business Administration from the same university, as well as degrees in Political and Administrative Sciences from the University of Lubumbashi in the DRC.
M Irfan Abdool Rahman
Board Member
Mr M Irfan Abdool Rahman was appointed Electoral Commissioner of Mauritius in 1998 by the Judicial and Legal Service Commission of Mauritius. Prior to this appointment, he served as a judicial officer for over 10 years, holding various positions, including District Magistrate, Senior Magistrate and Magistrate at the Intermediate Court.
Mr Rahman has an extensive election experience that spans over 4 decades. He started as a Returning Officer in 1989, and acted in this capacity for several elections before his appointment as Electoral Commissioner in 1998, post which he still holds as at date.
In his career he has undertaken several consulting assignments in the management of elections and democratic governance. These assignments include work undertaken with the United Nations Development Programme, the Commonwealth Secretariat, Organisation de la Francophonie, International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA), the African Union Commission (AUC), South African Development Community (SADC Organ on Politics, Defence and Security), Indian Ocean Commission (COI), Election Commissions Forum of SADC countries (ECF-SADC) and ‘Réseau des compétences électorales francophones (RECEF).
The highlights include the following but are not restricted to:
1. Vice Chairman of Joint Electoral Management Body (UN and Interim Afghan Electoral Commission) Kabul, Afghanistan in 2003-2004. 2. A member of the Commonwealth Observer Group which was present in Nigeria for the National Assembly and Presidential Elections in 1999, the 2002 Pakistan National and Provincial Assembly Elections and the 2008 Presidential and Parliamentary Election, Maldives 3. Led Francophonie Observer Group for the Seychelles Presidential Elections in 2001 and 2011, a member of the Francophonie Observer Group in the Comoros in April 2002 4. Mission Leader of the African Union Observer Group for the Presidential and Legislative Elections in the Republic of Liberia in 2005 5. Deputy Leader of the SADC Observer Group to the Zimbabwe Parliamentary Elections in 2005 and member of SADC Electoral Observer Mission (SEOM) to Zimbabwe in 2013 6. Lecturer - ‘Reporting Techniques and Technical Assistance in an International Election Observation Mission’, University of Ghana at the invitation of the International Training Programme on Peace building and Good Governance for African Civilian Personnel (ITPPGG) in collaboration with the University of Ghana and the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs in 2005 and 2008 7. Head of High Level UN Mission set up by UN Secretary-General to report on the Electoral process in connection with the Algerian Presidential Election 2009
8. Member of a High Level Political Parties Conference/Workshop of the UNDP’s Strengthening Democracy and Electoral Processes (SDEP), Phnom Penh, Cambodia in 2010 9. Council Member of the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA) based in Stockholm. Member of the Executive Committee of the SADC Election Commission Forum 10. Currently the President of the Réseau Electoral de l’Océan Indien (REOI) a regional network bringing together Electoral Management Bodies from the Indian Ocean Region. 11. Formed part of several other observer missions and electoral expert groups. 12. Undertaken several regional and international assignments in the field of democratic governance and elections.
In November 2023, Mr Mohammad Irfan Abdool Rahman was honoured and presented the Lifetime Achievement Award by Mr Thomas Hicks, Commissioner, U.S. Election Assistance Commission during the 19th International Electoral Awards Ceremony organised by the International Centre for Parliamentary Studies (ICPS) in partnership with the Portuguese National Electoral Commission (CNE) held in Portugal.
EISA Field Office Directors
The EISA Field offices are established to pursue specific objectives aligned to the organisations mission of promoting credible elections, citizen participation, and strong political institutions for sustainable democracy on the continent. These offices pursue specific objectives, on a permanent bases where these are broad, or on a temporary basis when objectives are more circumscribed.
Aimé Konan
Country Office Director, Central African Republic (CAR)
Aimé Konan is currently EISA Resident Director in Niger since 2021. He studied law and obtained in 2007 a master degree in Human Rights. After two years of practice as trainer in Human Rights at the Centre for Research and Action for Peace (CERAP) in Abidjan, he joined in 2009 the Electoral Institute for Sustainable Democracy in Africa (EISA) in Cote d’Ivoire. Since then, his career within the organisation led him to work successively in Burundi, Chad, Madagascar, DRC, Mali, CAR and Niger. As EISA senior staff, he developed and/or implemented projects in the fields of support to political parties and parliament, citizen and international election observation, voter education, as well as election mediation and early warning. He conducted several training and Technical Support Missions to the African Union (AU) and ECOWAS Observers. In Niger, Aimé KONAN is working in electoral assistance provided to EMB and the Media Regulator.
Pierre Kadi Sossou
Country Office Director, Chad
Pierre Kadi Sossou is the Country Representative for EISA Chad. Prior to working at EISA, he held several positions in UN peacekeeping missions and international organizations that promote democracy, governance and election. Among others, he has been a Field Political Expert at the United Nations Assistance Mission in Iraq (UNAMI), Deputy Country Director at Invisible Children in the DRC, Deputy Chief of Party at Counterpart International in the DRC, and Country Representative for the International Foundation for Election Systems (IFES) in Mauritania, leading strategies, and activities for the implementation of programs related to elections, civic engagement and conflict transformation. He graduated from the University of Lomé, and the Ecole Nationale d'Administration publique du Quebec; was awarded a DAAD doctoral scholarship to study at the University of Hannover; received a SSHRC postdoctoral fellowship to conduct research at the University of Ottawa, where he taught and coordinated the Canada Research Chair on Literary and Cultural Transfers. He published books and several papers.
Valdiodio Ndiaye
Country Office Director, Madagascar
Valdiodio Ndiaye is a legal expert with a master’s degree in public law and a master’s degree in Parliamentary Law. Currently pursuing a Ph. D in International Relations and Diplomacy. He is a seasoned electoral expert with over fifteen years of experience. He has specialized in the essential components of electoral processes in Africa (research, needs assessment of electoral processes, observation, file audit, analysis, monitoring of electoral violence, media monitoring and civic education) and peacebuilding, including pre- and post-election assessment missions. He has collaborated in the electoral field with almost all regional and sub-regional institutions in various African countries. He has coordinated more than four large-scale elections programs funded by various donors and others in democratic governance and social cohesion. Valdiodio is currently the Country Representative of EISA Madagascar. He is a BRIDGE-accredited trainer with a specialization in administrative, financial and personnel management.
Antonetta Hamandishe
Country Representative, Tanzania
Antonetta Lovejoy Hamandishe is a seasoned elections, governance, and human rights specialist with over 12 years of leadership experience advancing democratic reforms, institutional strengthening, and inclusive political participation across Africa’s most complex and transitional contexts. She is currently the Country Director for the Electoral Institute for Sustainable Democracy in Africa (EISA) in Tanzania and a Ph.D. candidate in Peace, Governance, and Development at the University for Peace, focusing on gender and politics in Somalia.
Antonetta has held senior positions including Chief of Party, Country Representative, and Programme Manager, leading multi-million-dollar programmes funded by USAID, the European Union, SIDA, and the FCDO. Through her work with EISA, she has provided electoral technical support to the electoral units of the African Union, ECOWAS, SADC, and ECF-SADC, strengthening their capacity to deliver credible, inclusive, and peaceful elections.
She has delivered transformative results in Somalia, Zimbabwe, Liberia, Somaliland, and beyond, working with election management bodies, civil society, and regional institutions to promote electoral integrity and democratic governance.
She has served as a long-term and short-term election observer in Lesotho (2015, 2022), Ghana (2016), Malawi (2014), Angola (2022), Kenya (2017, 2022), Zimbabwe (2013, 2018), Egypt (2015), Mozambique (2014, 2018), Liberia (2023), Uganda (2016), Guyana (2015), and Myanmar (2015) with EISA, The Carter Center, and other international missions.
A recognised thought leader on gender equality in politics, Antonetta integrates feminist perspectives into electoral policy and practice, champions reforms that amplify women’s and youth voices, and authors influential policy briefs, technical manuals, and academic works. She is widely respected for building consensus in politically sensitive environments, forging enduring partnerships, and translating policy into results-driven programmes that strengthen democracy, uphold human rights, and foster inclusive governance across Africa and beyond,