EU EOM observation methodology
The European Union Election Observation Mission (EU EOM) is led by a Chief Observer supported by a core team that is normally deployed in country about eight weeks prior to election day, with long term observers arriving to observe the preparations for the election at regional level about five to six weeks before polling. The short term observers then arrive shortly before election day in order to increase the observation capacities of the mission during polling, counting and the aggregation of results.
An observation mission does not interfere in the electoral process and has no authority to change, improve or correct any shortcomings or to request changes during the election process. The observation mission has only the mandate to collect and verify information concerning the election process, to analyse the observations and, then, after the elections, to publish its findings. As a rule, an EU EOM never operates in a country against the will of the host government.
Regular meetings are held with election officials at national, regional and local levels, political parties, candidates, civil society and media throughout the country. Observers clearly distinguish between complaints, rumours, accusations and verified facts. Only facts that are witnessed or verified by the observers will be used as the basis of the mission's report. Furthermore, although the mission cooperates with other observer organisations, only information collected by its own international observers will be used for the mission's statement and final report.
A few days following the election, the Chief Observer of the EU EOM issues a public preliminary statement based on long term and short term observations of the entire process. Approximately two months after the final results, a comprehensive report is issued, which will, if necessary, include a series of recommendations for improvements to the overall electoral process and democratic environment.
The EU has organised EOMs across the world, including: Sri Lanka, Togo, Tanzania, Guyana, Zimbabwe, Peru, Nicaragua, Ivory Coast, the Palestinian Territories, Indonesia, Bangladesh, East Timor, Suriname, Cambodia, South Africa, Pakistan, Madagascar, Ecuador, Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda, Cambodia, Guatemala, Mozambique, West Bank and Gaza, Ethiopia, Guinea Bissau, Uganda, Afghanistan, Yemen, Fiji and Nepal.
EU EOM key objectives
The assessment of the elections is based on seven key criteria that have been adopted by the European Union in assessing the quality of elections and which are assessed against regional and international standards. These include:
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The degree of impartiality shown by the election administration;
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The degree of freedom of political parties and candidates to assemble and express their views;
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The fairness of access to state resources made available for the election;
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The degree of access for political parties and candidates to the media, in particular the state media;
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The universal franchise afforded to voters;
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Any other issue which concerns the democratic nature of the election e.g. campaign violence, rule of law, legislative framework;
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The conduct of polling and counting of votes.
Each of the seven areas is assessed by the EU EOM analysts who monitor all components of the election process with the support of both long and short term observers. This enables them to conduct a thorough and comprehensive assessment of the overall administration of the elections as well as the degree of freedom and access granted to candidates, voters and the media.
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