1)BACKGROUND

• The Rules of Procedure of the Conference of the Parties to the Escazú Agreement, adopted by means of the Decision I/1 of 22 April 2022, establish the Regional Public Mechanism as the channel for electing the representatives of the public in order to encourage and facilitate public participation and to channel their contributions.
• The role of elected representative of the public has its roots in the negotiation process of the Escazú Agreement, when in November 2014, the public was invited to nominate representatives to the Negotiating Committee.
• The election of six representatives of the public for a four-year term took place on 2 and 3 November 2022.
• A new election shall be held after the end of the ordinary meeting of the COP preceding the fourth year of the term of office and within the same calendar year in which the meeting is held (Article 19).
• Consequently, the Secretariat calls on those who wish to vote and/or to submit their candidacies in accordance with the Rules for the election of representatives of the public of the Escazú Agreement. 
• Instructions for voting and submitting candidacies are outlined in the following sections.

2) ELECTORAL CALENDAR *Deadlines are at 23:59 Santiago, Chile time.

• Call for elections and submission of candidacies: 10 July 2026.
• Closing date for the electoral register, including all those registered on the Regional Public Mechanism platform: 31 July 2026. CLOSED
• Candidacy submission period: 10 July-10 August 2026. CLOSED
• Publication of the final list of candidates: 17 September 2026.
• Election campaign period: 5 October-5 November 2026.
• Voting: 10 and 11 November 2026.
• Scrutiny, reporting and notification of results: 12 November 2026.
• Deadline for accepting the post: 17 November 2026 
• Notification to the Executive Committee and publication of results: 18 November 2026.

3) VOTERS (Article 6 of the Rules for the election)

3. All persons registered in the Regional Public Mechanism participatory platform established by the Rules of Procedure of the Conference of the Parties, are eligible to vote.* 
4. The closing of the electoral register shall take place 15 business days after this call for elections (31 July 2026). CLOSED
5. The Secretariat shall certify the persons registered as eligible to vote by the closing date of the electoral register and notify them by sending an email to the address registered in the Regional Public Mechanism.

4) INSTRUCTIONS FOR REGISTERING ON THE PLATFORM OF THE REGIONAL PUBLIC MECHANISM

This platform was designed in partnership with Go Vocal to ensure the security of the public representative voting process. Through this platform, you can vote in the election, run for candidacy, and interact with voters and candidates on the platform during the campaign period.

Step 1: Please go to https://publicoescazu.cepal.org/en/ . Once there, under ‘Sign up’, you will need to enter your email address and click “continue”.

Step 2: You will be asked for an activation code, which will be sent to your email address. You must enter this code in the field labelled ‘CODE’, then confirm and continue. Once you have completed your registration, you will receive a welcome email for the platform.

Step 3: Then, you must complete your profile on the platform by filling in the required fields: first name, surname, gender, year of birth, place of residence, country and type of organisation (optional); you can add a password, choose the type of notifications you wish to receive and ‘save’ your changes. 

*To ensure the security and transparency of the process, we would like to remind you that, to vote, you must complete your profile to finalise the registration process on our platform.

To log in to the platform again, you will need to enter your email address and password, if applicable.

If you encounter any difficulties with registration, please contact the Secretariat at secretaria.escazu@cepal.org

5) REQUIREMENTS FOR CANDIDATES (Article 7 of the Rules for the election):

a)           Be a national or resident of a country of Latin America and the Caribbean of Annex I of the Agreement, proving such status by means of a copy of the passport, identity card, residence permit or other authoritative means. 

b)           Be registered to vote in the Regional Public Mechanism platform, as certified by the Secretariat, by the closing date of the electoral register (by 31 July 2026). 

c)           Not being employed or having been employed in any branch of a State, whether national or subnational, for 12 months before the election. Candidates must provide an affidavit to this effect (Annex 2).

6) SUBMISSION OF CANDIDACIES (CLOSED)

To make effective the presentation of candidacies in the present election, interested persons must submit the respective form (Annex 1), an affidavit (Annex 2) and the documents required in article 7 (a copy of the passport, identity card, residence permit or other authoritative means), to the following e-mail address: secretaria.escazu@cepal.org, stating in the subject line ‘Submission of candidacy for representatives of the public under the Escazú Agreement’, by August 10, 2026.

Secretariat of the Escazú Agreement