During the 1980s and 1990s, regional cooperation between EMBs intensified, and a number of regional associations were established to facilitate and sustain cooperation. The objectives of the early regional electoral associations that were formed in the 1980s, however, were so general as to be little more than a framework pointing to desirable goals with little specific commitment. The Association of Electoral Bodies of Central America and the Caribbean (known as the Tikal Protocol), established in Guatemala in 1985, was a representative body of electoral organizations designed to achieve cooperation, exchange information and facilitate consultation. Its recommendations were not binding on its member organizations. The Association of South American Electoral Organizations (the Quito Protocol) was formed in 1989 along similar lines.
The Inter-American Union of Electoral Organizations (UNIORE) was established in 1991 to promote cooperation between the electoral organizations and associations created under the Tikal and Quito protocols. It extended the potential scope of cooperation to provide support and assistance, as far as practicable, to member organizations that requested it. The Costa Rica-based Center for Electoral Promotion and Assistance (CAPEL), established in 1983, acts as the executive secretariat of these networks.
Although the elements of information exchange, cooperation and consultation still featured prominently in the objectives of associations formed in the 1990s, there was greater focus on broad common goals such as the promotion of free, fair and credible elections, independent and impartial EMBs, and transparent electoral procedures. Specific common regional goals were emphasized, such as cooperation in the improvement of electoral laws and practices; the promotion of participation by citizens, political contestants and non-partisan NGOs in electoral processes; and the establishment of resource centres for research and information. These associations also stressed the development of professional electoral officials with high integrity, a strong sense of public service, knowledge and experience of electoral processes, and a commitment to democratic elections.
Some of the associations that typify these dimensions are:
- the Association of European Election Officials (ACEEEO), established in 1991;
- the Association of African Election Authorities, established in 1997;
- the Association of Asian Election Authorities, established in 1998; and
- the Association of Caribbean Electoral Organizations, established in 1998.
Although the mandates of these networks differ in detail, they all aim to promote the free flow of information among election practitioners and to provide electoral assistance to their member EMBs. For example, the objectives of the ACEEEO include the following:
- promoting open and transparent elections through an exchange of experiences and information relating to election law and procedure, technology, administrative practice and voter education;
- promoting training and further education of election officials and international observers;
- promoting the principle of independent and impartial election authorities and administrators;
- developing professional election officials with high integrity, a strong sense of public service, knowledge of electoral practice and commitment to democratic elections;
- promoting the principle of participation in electoral processes by citizens, political contestants and non-partisan civic organizations; and
- developing resources for election-related information and research.
Other regional networks were created around the same time, including the Pacific Islands, Australia, New Zealand Electoral Administrators Network (PIANZEA) and the ECF of the SADC. The following decade saw the establishment of more regional networks such as the Andean Electoral Council of the Andean community, the Commonwealth Electoral Network (CEN), the Electoral Council of the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR), the Forum of Election Management Bodies of South Asia (FEMBoSA), the Forum of National Electoral Commissions of the East African Community, the ECOWAS Network of Electoral Commissions (ECONEC), and the Network of Francophone Electoral Authorities (RECEF).
The potential benefits of regional cooperation through associations of electoral organizations are considerable. New EMBs can draw on the support and experience of more established electoral authorities, accelerate their capacity building by exchanging personnel, and may even be able to borrow electoral materials at relatively short notice.
The development of EMB networks is constrained in practice by two issues that affect individual EMBs: lack of resources to participate in the association’s activities and fear of compromising their perceived independence. Some EMBs shy away from active participation because they fear that depending on the government for resources for travel, research or other programme activities might compromise their independence. Resource constraints also restrict the activities of the associations themselves, which have to depend mainly on outside funding.
