Elections observers — both local and international — play a crucial role in elections in many countries. Without election observers, who oversee elections and help ensure transparency and fairness in the electoral process help deter electoral fraud and provide an independent assessment of the election’s integrity in different countries, it is often difficult to ensure free, fair and credible elections. According to multiple sources including the British Broadcasting Corporation and Cable News Network, along with local election observers, international observers oversaw elections in many democratic and less democratic countries including Venezuela, Germany, the Philippines, Ecuador and Ivory Coast in the past. But election observations are not as effective as desired many times in different settings, despite their growing consideration.
There are limited access-based and other challenges that put barriers to election observations in different countries. The lack of independence and impartiality, limited access to polling stations and election processes for both local and international election observers and political interference are crucial reasons. But a lack of cooperation from local authorities and restrained access to polling stations are more in those countries where elections are unfair and there is a history of human rights abuses and political repression. Intimidation towards observers and logistical challenges also hinder the ability to effectively monitor elections and ensure transparency in many settings. Election observers including international observers are attacked many times, making it difficult to observe elections. For instance, international election observers were attacked in Georgia.
Photo credit: https://thecommonwealth.org/.
Pertinently saying, guidelines-based and other steps of election observer groups, international actors and local authorities help address many challenges and concerns, leading to improved monitoring and effective observations. For instance, clear guidelines and protocols for election observers to follow are established and opportunities for enhanced communication and coordination among different observer groups are provided in many settings that help facilitate effective observation and address various challenges. Among others, partnerships with local organizations are fostered that help mitigate the challenges faced by election observers many times, maximizing the effectiveness and coverage during the electoral process. But there are also various limitations that lead to limited outcomes in many settings — including in conflicting regions or countries — though observers’ presence leads to better outcomes.
There is a lack of effective steps by the local authorities to ensure transparency in the election process for election observers and ensure access to the polling stations that hinder observers from accurately assessing the fairness of the elections in many countries. Additionally, there are limited efforts to provide training to deal with highly risky situations and address challenges in coordinating efforts among multiple observer groups many times. Notably, security risks remain for election observers in different conflict zones or politically unstable regions but they are not effectively addressed many times, increasing the chance of attacks. Among others, there is also a lack of steps to address the political constraints of host countries which impact election observations.
Photo credit: https://www.manilatimes.net/.
Given that election observers are helpful for free and fair elections, the challenges need to be addressed to ensure better election observations and their positive impacts on elections in many countries. While local authorities need to provide access to information to local and international observers, international election observers need to take the unique political and cultural contexts into consideration. But providing observers with training on local context, safety protocols and conflict resolution techniques can also help navigate potentially volatile situations during the election observation period in many settings — more successfully.
Addressing political constraints is vital in many settings for effective election observations. Building trust with local organizations can greatly help election observations. Implementing observers’ feedback after elections can not only ensure access to election observation in the future but also improve the electoral process in many settings that can increase the chance of fair elections. But there are also issues with the independence and impartiality of observer missions that need to be addressed.
