Author: Antonio Spinelli, International IDEA

Picture courtesy: Margot Gould, International IDEA

With the end of the Cold War, following the wave of democratic change that swept most of the world, a number of countries confronted the need of conferring legitimacy to their electoral processes, particularly those holding multiparty elections for the first time, going through major democratic transitions or in post-conflict societies. As a result, the practice of conducting international election observation missions emerged as an increasingly common instrument used by the international community in its democracy promotion efforts.

The exponential increase in the demand for election observation missions was premised on a precise historical and political context, characterized, among other events, by the dramatic changes taking place in the former Soviet bloc, Latin America, and Southern Africa. All these transitions were conducive to an environment in which the conduct of credible elections became not only an essential element of effective democratic governance, but also a precondition for gaining necessary domestic legitimacy, donor support and international recognition.

Although elections are only one of the many institutional prerequisites for a democratic state, and alone not sufficient to legitimise as “democratic” an entire political system, election observation can contribute to assist emerging democracies in their objective to deliver elections that are considered as genuine and credible.

The practice of election observation is, therefore, much more than a simple technical exercise: it forms the analytical basis for validating or challenging the legitimacy of an elected government; it offers a mechanism to professionally, objectively and independently assess and report on the integrity (or otherwise, on the impropriety) of the various elements of an electoral process; and it provides (or otherwise, denies) the essential “stamp of approval” strongly required by that process.

Proper election observation has to comply with principles of full coverage, impartiality, transparency and professionalism, it should cover the whole electoral process, and it has to be appropriate to the electoral system, electoral process and political environment which it is supposed to be covering. In its most appropriate forms, electoral observation provides the opportunity to evaluate the political, social and legal environment in which the election is being conducted. Depending on the context in which it is implemented, observation may serve to build the confidence of the electoral stakeholders in the process and on its outcomes; it may contribute to enhance the transparency of the electoral process and serve as a deterrent to improper practices and attempts at fraud; or as a conflict prevention mechanism. In its worst expressions, international electoral observation could provide undue legitimacy to an improper electoral process. At times, observation missions have also been criticised as biased, arbitrary, or as interfering with issues of national sovereignty.

Finally, election observation should be more closely integrated to election assistance. While in technical terms they are different activities, election observation is an essential political complement of election assistance.

With this Highlights dgGovernance and International IDEA continue to look on Electoral issues.

Related links:

• dgGovernance resource collection on Governance and Parliament

• International IDEA: "The Future of International Electoral Observation"
• International IDEA: "Code of Conduct for the Ethical and Professional Observation of Elections"
• ODIHR Election Observation Handbook
• Commission of the European Communities: "Communication from the Commission on Election Assistance and Observation"