Citizen electoral observation is an activity carried out by non-governmental
organizations (NGOs) or civil society organizations (CSOs).[i]
The rights of citizens to observe electoral processes is derived from the right
to participation enshrined in article 21 of the 1948 Universal Declaration
of Human Rights (UDHR) and article 25 of the 1966 International Covenant on
Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). To
date, citizen observation has taken place in over 100 countries and has
included over four million citizens.[ii]
The Global Commission on Elections, Democracy and Security
(through its recommendation that citizen election observers commit to
global standards for domestic election monitoring with the Global Network of
Domestic Election Monitors and adhere to its Declaration of Global Principles
and code of conduct) suggests voter education is another important role that citizen
observation groups play in electoral processes.[iii] Targeted
education campaigns for women, new voters, or traditionally marginalized groups
can be an effective means of bolstering the right to participation. CSOs that
engage exclusively in electoral observation can increase public stakeholder
knowledge of electoral rights, rules and procedures. Moreover, citizen
observation can promote greater transparency in electoral processes and provide
the means for citizens to access information on elections.
The Declaration of Global Principles for
Non-Partisan Election Observation and Monitoring by Citizen Organizations
(DOGP),[iv] paralleling the Declaration of Principles for
international observation, forms the framework for citizen observers around the
globe. These Principles and accompanying Code of Conduct were created by
consensus among the members of the Global Network of Domestic Election
Observers (GNDEM), with guidance from the National Democratic Institute (NDI)
and the UN Electoral Assistance Division (UN EAD) in 2012. There are
more than 250 endorsers, or signatory organizations, in more than 85 countries
and territories. The list of endorsers can be found here.[v] This document defines the specific role of citizen
electoral observation as the:
“Independent, systematic and comprehensive evaluation of
legal frameworks, institutions, processes and the political environment related
to elections; impartial, accurate and timely analysis of findings; the
characterization of the findings based on the highest ethical standards for
impartiality and accuracy; the offering of appropriate recommendations for
obtaining genuine democratic elections; and advocating for improvements in
legal frameworks for elections, their implementation through electoral related
administration and removal of impediments to full citizen participation in
electoral and political processes.” [vi]
The Declaration further emphasizes that the
observation effort should aim to cover the entire electoral process, based on
impartial, accurate and timely analysis, with a view to offering
recommendations to make future processes conform better to national, regional
and international laws and obligations that apply to elections for the country
in question. Observation enables citizen
participation in the electoral process outside political parties and partisan
politics. In situations where political parties are poorly prepared or where
authoritarian politics is the norm, electoral observation can serve a
counterbalancing role that is usually filled by multiparty politics
[i]
While recognizing the diversity of
non-governmental actors and their denominations, this paper adopts the
definition of CSOs established by the 2007-2008 Advisory Group on CSOs and Aid Effectiveness
which has been adopted by the OECD DAC, and therefore defines them as including
“all non-market and non-state organizations outside of the family in which
people organize themselves to pursue shared interests in the public domain”.
Although the term NGO is still used in many contexts interchangeably with CSOs
they can be understood as a subset of CSOs.
[ii] “Global Network of Domestic Election
Monitors,” NDI, accessed December 5, 2018, www.ndi.org/global-network-domestic-election-monitors
[iv]
Declaration of Global Principles for
Non-Partisan Observation and Monitoring of Elections by Citizen Organizations,
GNDEM, 2012
