Themes & Issues by Country
Burkina Faso
Elections are observed by two categories of observers. They include international observers and domestic observers. Guests of the CENI residing in Burkina Faso and working at embassies or other international organizations are also sometimes included in the event that they wish to act as an elections observer on Election Day. Observation missions are usually performed by civil society or by supranational organizations (UN, AU, ECOWAS, etc.)…
Chad
Electoral observation has been indispensable for strengthening the credibility of elections. It is better structured and has facilitated stronger attention and support by development partners in their efforts to provide electoral assistance. Electoral observation was performed during the first pluralist elections of 1996 and 1997, subsequently, the principle of electoral observation was clearly stated in the August 13, 2007 Political Agreement, and reiterated in the Law 020/PR/2008 of December 19, 2008 which established the CENI…
Mali
Article 14 of Mali’s electoral law states that the CENI is in charge of overseeing national and international electoral observations. It provides accreditation to organizations which express the desire to observe elections. Generally, other electoral authorities such as the Ministry of Territorial Affairs or the DGE provide observers with the all the available information regarding the electoral process. In Mali, most electoral observations are conducted by national observers. However, regional and international observers also conduct observation missions…
Mauritania
Electoral observation in Mauritania did not really exist before 2006. Prior to that date, there was no international or national observation of elections – national electoral observation was neither allowed nor regulated. In the election cycle of 2006, 2007, and 2009, the conduct of electoral observation and voter education activities by Mauritanian civil society organizations was very weak and had little impact on the electoral process. Electoral observation was not authorized during the constitutional referendum held on June 25, 2006, and it was very limited in the legislative and municipal elections of 2006. In order to observe the 2007 presidential elections, four organizations received funding from the donors’ fund managed by UNDP (United Nations Development Program), or from UNDP itself…
Niger
In addition to party delegates, national and international observers may take part the observation of elections to ensure their transparency and integrity. Article 85 of the Electoral Code determines the role and mandate of party representatives in polling stations. They can enter the polling station freely and can include in the minutes all of their observations and/or claims. Despite their limited resources, political parties usually make the effort to send representatives to all polling stations where they have a running candidate…
Senegal
The neutral observation of elections plays a major role in the credibility, transparency and peace of an electoral process. The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) has no doubts about this, as stated in their Declaration at the conclusion of the Istanbul summit, in 1999, “observation of elections may play an important role in the strengthening of the confidence of people in the electoral process.” In Senegal, national elections are observed by both national and international observers. The end goal of electoral observation is to verify that elections are organized according to national and international norms of objectivity, fairness, and the acceptance of results…
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