by Wendy K. Martinez

From June 21 to 23, 2009 the Organization of American States’ Secretary for Political Affairs through its Department for Electoral Cooperation and Observation (DECO) and Elections Canada hosted the Sixth Inter-American Meeting of Electoral Management Bodies (EMBs) in Ottawa, Canada. The three day event focused on “Strengthening Electoral Processes: the Role of EMBs between Elections, Civil Registry and International Electoral Observation”.

With the participation of 67 high level representatives from electoral management bodies from the Hemisphere, the main objective of the meeting was to discuss how EMBs may strengthen electoral processes, in particularly regarding three issues that have become increasingly important throughout the years: the role of EMBs between elections, voter registry and international electoral observation.

Ambassador Victor Rico, OAS Secretary of Political Affairs, inaugurated the event emphasizing that the meeting would be of benefit to all participating EMBs and serve as an instrument in helping develop the tools necessary to continue promoting horizontal cooperation and strengthening electoral processes in the region.

Similarly, Mr. Marc Mayrand, Director General of Elections Canada, noted the importance of this Sixth Annual Meeting in generating dialogue, amongst the EMBs, to discuss challenges faced and exchange best practices regarding elections.

The meeting’s agenda included panel presentations as well as a round table discussion facilitated by Elections Canada. The meeting included space for both dialogue and the exchange of experiences among EMBs.

The round table discussion was led by Mr. Mayrand and focused on the role of EMBs between elections. His initial presentation detailed the activities an EMB should conduct before an election, on Election Day and after. For example, during the pre-electoral period EMBs are responsible for planning the electoral calendar of activities, registering political parties and the electorate, training its staff and the members of voting tables on the procedures for Election Day as well as disseminating information on the process to be held. Likewise, Mr. Mayrand indicated that, on Election Day, EMBs tabulate the votes and ultimately, proclaim the official winners, among other things. During the Post-Electoral phase, he considered it important for EMBs to audit and evaluate the process in addition to developing methods aimed at improving the next election. 

Mr. Mayrand listed the series of activities that an EMB could conduct between elections, and emphasized the need to focus on updating the voter’s registry list, conducting civic education campaigns, researching new procedures aimed at strengthening processes and maintaining continued dialogue with other EMBs in order to exchange experiences, challenges faced and best practices; implementing these strategies between election cycles helps to create an accessible, trustworthy and committed EMB.

The first panel discussion entitled “Electoral Registry” aimed at providing an opportunity for electoral authorities to share their experience in the use of new technologies to improve the quality of voters’ lists; the improvement of processes and security measures; and quality control mechanisms, among other things. The panel was composed of members of the Electoral Departmental Court of Bolivia, the General Director of Elections of Belize, the President of the Electoral Tribunal of Panama and the Commissioner of the US Elections Assistance Commission. Each panelist discussed the composition of their elections and methods used for voter registration. Additionally, they shared the difficulties each EMB encounters when organizing an election, specifically regarding voter registration.

The second panel discussion, “International Electoral Observation,” focused on a discussion of the advantages and added value of international electoral observation in different contexts, for example, in a situation of tight results; new aspects that could be observed by the missions; EMBs’ expectations regarding international missions; international and national regulations for electoral observation missions, among other issues. Ms. Magdalena Chu, Chief of the National Office of Electoral Processes of Peru, Ms. Nadica Mc Intyre, Supervisor of Elections of Grenada, and Mr. Manuel Carrillo, Coordinator of International Relations of the Federal Electoral Institute of Mexico were invited to share their perspective on the topic, addressing how electoral observation can contribute to the strengthening of elections as well as new challenges in this particular area.

The Inter-American Meetings of EMBs seek to promote the effective exchange of knowledge, experiences and best practices of electoral administration in the region. The first meetings was held in March of 2003 in Panama City, Panama and have subsequently been held in several other countries of the region. The more recent meetings, from 2007 to 2008, provided important impetus for information sharing and inter-institutional collaboration as well as very concrete initiatives to strengthen electoral authorities and to make elections more transparent and participatory. Starting in 2008, the OAS began institutionalizing its capacity building project known as the First Inter-American Electoral Training Seminar in cooperation with International IDEA, FLACSO and the Federal Electoral Institute of Mexico. At the 2008 meeting in Quito, electoral authorities themselves discussed and selected the priority topics to be addressed at the training seminar. The Fifth Inter-American Meeting was also a milestone in terms of regional participation. It was the first time in which electoral management bodies of the Caribbean participated. Their contributions demonstrated important commonalities between Latin America and the Caribbean.

The Seventh Inter-American Meeting of Electoral Management Bodies, to be held in the United States of America in 2010, will address new issues key to EMBs.

For more information, visit http://www.oas.org/sap/espanol/cpo_cooperacion_sobre.asp

Wendy K. Martinez works for the Department for  Electoral Cooperation and Observation at the Secretariat for Political Affairs of the Organization of American States.