Political parties often
play a watchdog role during the electoral period and are responsible for
monitoring procedures and operations of the voting process, checking for
irregularities, such as vote buying, intimidation of voters, ballot fraud and
poor organization. Political parties recruit and train party agents, and they
can seek to make sure that women are well represented in this process. Also,
checklists used by party monitors can include gender-focused questions to
assess existing barriers to women’s participation as voters and candidates.[1]
[1] UNDP and NDI (2012): op.
cit., p. 36.
