The numerous democratisation processes initiated in much of the world over recent decades have led to an increasing demand for International Election Observation Missions.
What is the purpose of International Election Observation?
As a mechanism for impartial and independent evaluation of electoral processes, International Election Observation has served the numerous democratisation processes initiated in recent years, becoming a clear expression of the International Community's commitment to the promotion of democratic values and Human Rights.
The potential benefits derived from the presence of an Electoral Observation Mission (EOM), acting under the premises of independence and impartiality, are numerous: reduction of fraud levels, mitigation of conflicts, strengthening of the electorate's confidence in the electoral process, testimonial function, institutional strengthening and improvement of electoral processes through the drafting of recommendations.
What does an Election Observation Mission do?
An EOM conducts an in-depth analysis of the electoral process using a standardised methodology. It does so in order to provide a professional, independent and impartial assessment of the quality of the observed electoral process, taking into account the instruments of international law, good practice and national legislation regarding the conduct of democratic elections.
Central importance of the recommendations
One of the important added values of an EOM lies especially in the recommendations issued by the EOM aimed at improving these processes through corresponding technical and legal reforms.
The recognition of the importance of promoting the follow-up and implementation of these recommendations led the EU to deploy, from 2013 on, Election Follow-up Missions (EFMs) aimed at assessing the status of implementation of the recommendations in the countries where elections had been observed.
The number of such Missions has grown steadily since then, demonstrating the critical importance of monitoring the implementation of recommendations to improve electoral processes.
In light of this central role, the EU has developed a database of recommendations issued by EU EOMs since 2016 which can be accessed at the following link: http://database.eueom.eu
What is the composition of an Election Observation Mission?
The Core Team: Consists of a Head of Mission, a Deputy Head of Mission and experts in different fields (electoral, legal, political, media, gender, etc.). Deployed for an average period of between eight and twelve weeks and responsible for drafting the Preliminary Report containing the findings of the EOM.
Members of the European Union (EU) EUEOM Core Team are selected by the relevant unit of the European Commission, the Foreign Policy Instrument (FPI), in coordination with the relevant unit of the European External Action Service (EEAS), and require prior registration on the European Union Database of Election Experts
Announcement of posts
Members of the EOM Core Team of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) are selected by the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), with prior registration in the ODIHR Database of Electoral Experts required.
Announcement of posts
Long-term Observers (LTOs): Responsible for analysing the development of the electoral process in their area of responsibility during the pre- and post-election period. Deployed for an average period of six to eight weeks.
Short-term Observers (STOs): Responsible for observing the voting process, counting and consolidation of results. Deployed for an average period of seven to fifteen days.
What organisations carry out Election Observation?
The EU, the OSCE and the Organisation of American States (OAS) are the main international organisations that carry out Election Observation Missions in which Spanish election observers participate. A regional organisation, the African Union, has also become an important actor in this field in recent years in its geographical area. In addition to these international organisations, there are also non-governmental organisations that carry out international election observation. Among others, the Carter Centre, the National Democratic Institute (NDI) and the International Republican Institute (IRI).
What is the role of the Human Rights Office of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation?
The Human Rights Office (HRO) is the Unit responsible for pre-selecting or selecting long-term and short-term election observers for EU, OAS and OSCE Election Observation Missions.
For EU EOMs, the HRO submits a shortlist of candidates to the relevant unit of the European Commission - the FPI - and the FPI makes the final selection of observers. For OSCE EOMs, the selection of observers is carried out by the HRO. For OAS EOMs, the selection is carried out by the HRO in coordination with the OAS Department for Electoral Cooperation and Observation (DECO).
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