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First Set of Global Standards for Citizen Election Monitors is Launched at the UN
Craig Jenness, director of the U.N. Electoral Assistance Division, speaks at the launch of the global principles. Photo by the U.N.
Global standards for citizen election observation were established for the first time on April 3 when leaders representing 150 citizen election monitoring groups came together at the United Nations to launch a declaration of principles and code of conduct.
The declaration lays out rights and responsibilities for citizen monitors, from their rights of access and accreditation to their duties to remain nonpartisan and share their findings with the public. The standards were developed by the Global Network of Domestic Election Monitors (GNDEM), which includes 150 member groups from 65 countries on five continents that have mobilized three million citizen observers. GNDEM was created in 2009 as the first global network to aid collaboration among citizen election monitoring groups.
Representatives from more than a dozen intergovernmental and international nongovernmental organizations attended the ceremony, along with former Secretary of State Madeleine K. Albright, NDI's chairman. The launch event was hosted by the U.N. Electoral Assistance Division and co-organized by NDI. The initiative is funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development and the National Endowment for Democracy.
"The declaration of global principles provides both a practical and ethical structure for citizen election monitoring," Albright said. "I hope that we will continue to see more countries and organizations endorse and implement the declaration of global principles and the code of conduct."
The launch marks an important milestone in the history of nonpartisan citizen election observation. Since 1986, at least 90 countries have benefited from the efforts of nonpartisan citizen election monitors, who have built confidence and participation in the electoral process.
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