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Election monitoring is the observation of an election by one or more independent parties, typically from another country or a non-governmental organization (NGO), primarily to ensure the fairness of the election process. An election is a Decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual to hold formal office There are national and international election observers. Monitors do not directly prevent electoral fraud, but rather record and report such instances. Electoral fraud is illegal interference with the process of an Election. The legitimacy of an election can be affected by the criticism of monitors, provided that they are themselves seen as unbiased. A notable individual is often appointed honorary leader of a monitoring organization in an effort to enhance its own legitimacy.

Contents

History

The first monitored election was that of a plebiscite in Moldavia and Wallachia that was monitored by most of the major European powers. A referendum (plural referendums or referenda) ballot question, or plebiscite (from Latin plebiscita Moldavia (Moldova is a geographic and historical region and former Principality in Eastern Europe, corresponding to the territory between Eastern Carpathians This article is about the region in what is now Southern Romania Election monitoring was uncommon until after World War II. World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including

The elections that are seen to be monitored are normally in countries where the democracy is seen as somewhat unstable and where there is a perceived threat that the election may be illegally influenced. A team of monitors observed the 2004 United States election, after concerns of voter inaccuracy in the 2000 U.S. election. The United States presidential election of 2004 was held on Tuesday November 2, 2004, to elect the President of the United States. The United States presidential election of 2000 was a contest between Democratic candidate Al Gore, then Vice President, and Republican There were national and international election observers in the 2006 Mexican general election. For other elections in Mexico during 2006 see 2006 Mexican elections For election disputes and controversies see Mexican general election 2006

Organisations

The United Nations Electoral Assistance Division is the foremost election monitoring organization, and maintains a permanent staff of monitors and election experts who attend elections around the world. The United Nations ( UN) is an International organization whose stated aims are to facilitate cooperation in International law, International security Other international organizations such as the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, the European Union, the Congress of the Council of Europe and the African Union also have monitoring teams. The European Union ( EU) is a political and economic union of twenty-seven member states, located primarily in The Congress of the Council of Europe (in full the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe) is an institution representing local and regional The African Union (abbreviated AU in English, and UA in its other working languages is a Confederation consisting of 53  African Individual governments also participate in monitoring efforts, generally under the umbrella of an international organization. These national efforts are normally managed by the local electoral commission. A wide array of NGOs also participate in monitoring efforts. The Carter Center, for example, played a key role — with the U. The Carter Center is a nongovernmental not-for-profit organization founded in 1982 by former U N. Electoral Assistance Division and the National Democratic Institute — in building consensus on a common set of international principles for election observation. The National Democratic Institute for International Affairs ( NDIIA or NDI) is an organization created by the United States government by way of the [1]

Methods

The monitoring itself takes many forms. Even the most closely scrutinized elections have only a relatively small number of observers. These observers are generally concentrated in areas that may be subject to problems, making surprise visits to polling stations with cameras and recording devices. Foreign observers rarely speak the language or understand the culture of the country where the election is being monitored. The vast majority of election monitoring thus relies on locals. Many domestic observers tend to be partisans looking out for the interests of their party and it is a challenge for international observers to parse the information they receive from these sources. The objectivity of some international observers is also questioned. [2]

Long Term Observers (LTO)

Most observation missions send a small number of long-term monitors (known as LTOs) for a period of six to eight weeks. A larger number of short-term observers (known as STOs) then join the mission for the final week of the campaign. STOs provide mostly quantitative observation of polling station and count procedures, with LTOs supplying qualitative analysis and contextual information about the wider political situation.

Local and regional election monitoring

Though most international observer organisations have a mandate to observe parliamentary elections, the Congress of the Council of Europe, in cooperation with the Venice Commission, is specifically mandated to monitor local and regional elections and is unique in this regard. The Congress of the Council of Europe (in full the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe) is an institution representing local and regional The Venice Commission is an advisory body of the Council of Europe, composed of independent members in the field of constitutional law Since 1990, over 50 election processes have been observed by the Congress. In spite of the political and media prevalence which is given to elections at the national level, the holding of free and fair elections at the sub-national level is at least as important. No democracy can be referred to as such if not built on sound foundations. The Congress Strategy on election observation is based on three lines of action:

Paliamentary election monitoring


See also

References

  1. ^ Carter Center list of elections observed. The CIS Election Monitoring Organization (Миссия наблюдателей от СНГ на выборах is an Election monitoring body that was formed in October The Congress of the Council of Europe (in full the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe) is an institution representing local and regional The Carter Center. The Carter Center is a nongovernmental not-for-profit organization founded in 1982 by former U
  2. ^ 'People power' is a global brand owned by America. By Mark Almond. August 15, 2006. The Guardian. The Guardian (until 1959 The Manchester Guardian) is a British Newspaper owned by the Guardian Media Group.

Sources

External links

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