Election Monitoring Essay ⋆ Political Science Essay Examples ⋆ EssayEmpire

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Election monitoring is the process by which external or noninterested actors evaluate the legitimacy of balloting. Credible elections are central to democracy, and election observers aid in the acceptance of polling as relatively free of manipulation or free and fair. Among the benefits of election monitoring are acceptance of the results by both domestic and international audiences and validation of democratic efforts. International observers can also provide training and technical assistance to local populations and thereby strengthen the internalization of democracy in transitioning states. Both international and domestic monitoring usually involve the deployment of observers six to eight weeks before balloting, although some missions arrive up to a year prior to elections. The observers assist with the development of electoral laws, voter registration, and oversight of balloting, including the creation of independent voter tallies. Monitors must be perceived as neutral by the parties participating in the polling. Favoring one candidate or party over others is one of the greatest potential flaws in the system. Another is that monitors may not be deployed early enough to identify all corrupt practices, including media manipulation or problems with voter registration.

Election monitoring may be conducted at either the international or the domestic level. International monitoring occurred in 1857 when Austrian, British, French, Prussian, Russian, and Turkish observers assessed plebiscites in Moldova and Wallachia. These efforts accelerated in the aftermath of World War II (1939–1945) and during the rise of international organizations such as the United Nations, the Organization of American States, and the European Union, and the concurrent period of decolonization. Election monitoring emerged as one of several strategies in conflict resolution efforts and was often part of peace agreements and international peacekeeping operations. The end of the cold war and the subsequent wave of democracy led to a dramatic expansion of the use of international election monitoring as advocates, such as former U.S. president Jimmy Carter, championed the practice as a means to legitimize new regimes and new democracies. Typically, election monitors are invited by host states to supervise polling or are deployed as part of a peace agreement in post conflict states. Between 1989 and 2009, international monitors oversaw balloting in more than ninety emerging democracies or countries in transition. The widespread use of monitors reflects both efforts to secure international acceptance of regimes and the trend by which donor states and international organizations tie aid to successful elections. Among the organizations most commonly involved in monitoring are the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, the European Council, and the African Union. For instance, since 2000, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe has sent more than three thousand monitors to supervise fifteen separate elections.

Domestic monitoring has existed in various forms since the 1800s but became formalized only in the mid-twentieth century as nongovernmental and religious groups observed elections in areas of the U.S. South and unaffiliated groups specifically formed to oversee balloting emerged in other countries. The United Nations and other international bodies have undertaken numerous initiatives to train domestic observers in transitional states. For instance, prior to balloting in 1993, the United Nations trained more than fifty thousand Cambodians to assist in electoral monitoring. Even in mature democracies, including the United States and Western Europe, domestic groups often monitor balloting.

Bibliography:

Bjornlund, Eric C. Beyond Free and Fair: Monitoring Elections and Building Democracy. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University, 2004.
Santa-Cruz, Arturo. International Election Monitoring, Sovereignty, and the Western Hemisphere: The Emergence of an International Norm. New York: Routledge, 2005.