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EMBs in OSCE/ODIHR election observations. Achievements and challenges from the perspective of international standards and good practice. Tatyana Bogussevich, OSCE/ODIHR Acting Deputy Head of Election Department, Senior Election Adviser. Overview.
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EMBs in OSCE/ODIHR election observations Achievements and challenges from the perspective of international standards and good practice Tatyana Bogussevich, OSCE/ODIHR Acting Deputy Head of Election Department, Senior Election Adviser
Overview • Focuses exclusively on the administration by EMBs of an electoral process • Leaves out any other observations and aspects, including legal and political context • Not an attempt to capture with full correctness and comprehensiveness the special circumstances in each of the States • Generalizations and tendencies
Efficiency: self-organization, service provider Achievements • Elections technically well administered, within legal deadlines • Greater focus on training, using innovative approaches • Greater use of technology facilitating aspects of electoral process; • Work between elections, including on the basis of comprehensive action plans and lessons learnt • Greater focus on voter education, with use of interactive formats • Focus on enfranchisement and efforts to accommodate special needs groups Challenges • Resources (human, financial) incompatible with duties • Insufficient co-ordination with lower level EMBs and other institutions • Adoption of last-minute decisions • Need of greater training in particular on counting, tabulation and completion of protocols • Last minute replacement of staff challenges stability, undermines training
Integrity • Achievements • Opening and votingassessed overwhelmingly positively • Moving towards or established centralized voter registration • Development of guidelines to supplement, clarify legal provisions Challenges • Need for greater balance in composition • Lack of collegiality • Formalistic approach to complaints, poorly arguementeddecisions; • Failures to provide timely and effective legal redress • Counting and tabulation assessed considerably more negatively
Transparency • Challenges • Greater efforts needed to publish EMB decisions, meeting agendas and minutes in a timely manner; • Reduced transparency of count and tabulation processes; • Lack of provisions for observation • Achievements • Efforts to publish results by polling stations, post and distribute to observers protocols; • Greater trend of sessions open to observers, media, parties; • Greater engagement with civil society;
Conclusions and ways ahead Certain common trends, both with regard to achievements and challenges Benefits of EMB exchange Follow up Technical targeted advice and assistance by the OSCE/ODIHR