Members of Polling Station Committees (PSCs) symbolize election administration because they are the election officials who deal most directly with voters at the polling stations on election day. If the Polling Station Committee members are professional and appropriately educated for their job, voters will have more trust in the free and fair election process.

In order to improve PSC training, the Association of Election Officials in BiH (AEOBiH) offered its members as trainers at the Elections in Bosnia and Herzegovina that were held in 2000. The OSCE Mission in BiH accepted this initiative and in the end 42 of the 72 trainers selected by the OSCE Mission were AEOBiH members. This was an excellent opportunity for AEOBiH members to learn how to plan and conduct PSC training, as well as how to apply various interactive teaching methods.

In February 2002 the Election Commission of BiH and IFES/AEOBiH signed a Memorandum of Cooperation granting AEOBiH responsibility for PSC training for the General Elections in 2002. Selected AEOBiH members prepared PSC training, which is conducted by 33 AEOBIH trainers and MEC members in accordance with the Election Law of BiH. During preparations for implementation of the General Elections in 2002, 3957 PSC and about 38 000 PSC members were trained.

During elections in 2004, AEOBiH trainers conducted training of 192 Polling Station Committees throughout Bosnia and Herzegovina.

In the future, the AEOBiH plans to conduct training and professional development activities for MEC members for the preparation, implementation and evaluation of PSC training programs. AEOBiH has the expertise to implement projects that directly strengthen the professional skills and foster the exchange of good practices among MEC members.