Origins of Electoral Assistance - three main actors

Electoral assistance as defined today is still a discipline in its infancy, despite the fact that election assistance activities have been part of the external relations’ agenda of several established democracies since the end of World War II. Almost all established democracies had, by the 1960s, included election assistance in the framework of their democracy assistance initiatives in favour of developing countries.

Apart from the ‘Balkan Parenthesis’, where for a very specific set of circumstances the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) was entrusted with the organisation of elections by the Dayton Peace Agreement for Bosnia and by the Rambouillet Accords for Kosovo, one can clearly single out three actors that shaped the way electoral assistance has been justified and delivered since the 1960s: the United Nations, the United States and, from the mid-90s, the European Commission (additional assistance providers are listed below). 
 

The United Nations' involvement with electoral activities began in the 1960s when the Trusteeship Council assisted with observation/supervision of elections in various regions of the world. At the end of the 1980s, the UN begun to engage in major electoral missions of three kinds – organisation and conduct of elections; supervision and control of elections; and verification of electoral processes. The Under-Secretary-General for Political Af­fairs is the UN's Fo­cal Point for electoral assistance activities, supported by the Electoral Assistance Division of the UN Department of Political Af­fairs (DPA/EAD). UNDP partners with DPA/EAD and occupies a distinct role that includes among other things the provision of techni­cal assistance to an electoral event and to longer-term electoral systems and processes. In addition to DPA/EAD and UNDP, a number of UN actors are involved directly in electoral assistance or in activities that are relevant to electoral assistance¹.

United States started to offer electoral assistance at the end of the 1980s through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the Department of State and the National Endowment for Democracy. Initially, the emphasis of the assistance was heavily placed on election observation missions and political party support, but in 1987 USAID established IFES (the International Foundation for Election Systems), an NGO dedicated exclusively to providing assistance to the organisation of the technical aspects of electoral processes in developing countries. Since then, USAID has generally maintained a sort of division between the political party and civil society organisations (CSOs) development work (generally entrusted to specialised institutions like NDI and IRI, and the technical assistance activities in support of electoral processes that are generally entrusted to IFES.

The European Commission has been active since the 1990s in the field of electoral assistance, and its activities have always been firmly established within the larger domain of democracy promotion. Over this period, the forms through which support has been provided have evolved considerably and become more substantive then mere financial contributions to projects designed and managed by other international institutions and agencies. There is no focal point for electoral assistance at the EC level, but a number of services fulfilling different roles. The EC’s primary role is to support institutions/agencies/consortia that implement electoral assistance activities. EC Delegations worldwide are now operating under the deconcentration Principle. They thus have the leading role, together with the relevant National Authorities, over the identification, formulation, implementation and evaluation phases.

Electoral Assistance Providers

Apart from the actors listed above there is a wide range of assistance providers of which some are mentioned below:

International, Continental, Regional and Intergovernmental Organisations

• OSCE/ODIHR, the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights is the specialist institution of the OSCE dealing with elections, human rights, and democratisation. Based in Warsaw, Poland, the ODIHR promotes democratic election processes through the in-depth observation of elections and conducts election assistance projects that enhance meaningful participatory democracy. 

• International IDEA, the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance was set up in 1995 with a mandate to support sustainable democracy worldwide. The Institute works with both new and long-established democracies, helping to develop and strengthen the institutions and culture of democracy. It operates at international, regional and national levels, working in partnership with a range of institutions. IDEA uses comparative experience, analysis and extensive dialogue with practitioners to identify examples of good practice, and to produce tools and guidelines on democracy support. 

• IOM: International Organisation for Migration, established in 1951 as an intergovernmental organisation to resettle European displaced persons, refugees and migrants, IOM has now grown to encompass a variety of migration management activities throughout the world. Over the years, the International Organization for Migration has been actively involved in supporting elections in countries in post- conflict situations or political transition. 

• OAS, Organisation of American States, through its Unit for the Promotion of Democracy (UPD), has observed elections in a majority of its member states and provided electoral assistance to some other member countries of the Americas, helping to ensure transparency and integrity in the voting process. 

• AU, the African Union, the youngest among the continental organisations, recently undertook within its Department of Political Affairs the strengthening of the Human Rights and Democratisation Division in order to face request of electoral support, both in observation and technical assistance. 

• Southern African Development Community Parliamentary Forum (SADC PF) is a regional inter-parliamentary body which brings together twelve parliaments. The objectives of the Forum include the promotion of multiparty democracy, good governance, gender equality and political stability in the region as well as respect of the rule of law, human rights and fundamental freedoms. In line with the above objectives the Forum has taken a keen interest in election observation in its member states.

Specialized Organizations Having Global Coverage

• The Carter Center is a charitable organisation that has helped to improve the quality of life for people in more than 65 countries. Through its Democracy Program, the Center conducts international election monitoring; works to strengthen the capacity of civic organisations to participate in government policy-making; and promotes the rule of law.

• The MacDougall Trust is an independent educational research charity that seeks to advance knowledge and encourage research in: political or economic science; the functions of government and the services provided to the community by public and voluntary organisations; methods of election and the selection of government and other representative organisation leaders; and, representative democracy, its forms, functions, development and associated institutions.

• ERIS, Electoral Reform International Services is a division of the Electoral Reform Society of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (ERS). ERIS’ defined aim is offering a comprehensive advisory service for all democracies, was formed as an independent and non-political institute.

• European Network of Election Monitoring Organisations, the European Network of Election Monitoring Organizations (ENEMO) was set up as an international network of election monitoring organisations in 2001. The network promotes the involvement of civic organisations in election monitoring. As an effective way to engage, educate and empower citizens, ENEMO promotes election-monitoring standards of network members, supports international and exchange projects among ENEMO members, develops European-wide information resources on electoral legislation and systems, and provides international support to members.

• NDI, the National Democratic Institute, a US-based non profit organisation supported by the US Democratic Party and working to strengthen and expand democracy worldwide. Calling on a global network of volunteer experts, NDI provides practical assistance to civic and political leaders advancing democratic values, practices and institutions. NDI works with democrats in every region of the world to build political and civic organizations, safeguard elections, and to promote citizen participation, openness and accountability in government. With the Carter Centre, NDI has developed and implemented projects to empower domestic observers organisations to carry out parallel vote tabulation or quick counts.

• IRI, the International Republican Institute, is a non-profit organization dedicated to advancing democracy worldwide. The IRI conducts a wide range of international Programmes to promote and strengthen democratic ideals and institutions. IRI programmes are individually structured to meet the needs of the participants in the host country. These programmes include training on such issues as civic responsibility, the legislative process for newly elected government officials and the mechanics of organising political parties and election campaigns.

Additional actors are listed on the website of the EC-UNDP Joint Task Force on Effective Electoral Assistace.

¹Including the UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO), the United Nations Volunteers (UNV), the UN Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM), the UN Population Fund (UNFPA), the UN Office for Project Services (UNOPS) and the UN Department for Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA).