As citizens energetically demonstrate their commitment to democracy, so the authorities in different countries need to step up and make the effort to meet those demands

At the beginning of the 1990s a great deal of interest began to be shown in Presidential, parliamentary and local elections worldwide. They were regarded as the pathway to democracy based on the exercise of some human rights for which people had long suffered and striven. Elections were regarded as festive occasions and enthusiasm for them was palpable and infectious. The basic rights involved were those of association and assembly, freedom of the media and of expression and most critically the right to vote. Elections were recognised as an important step in a country‘s development.

These Rights translate into the voter having the opportunity to vote freely without any pressure; to make a real and informed choice of a candidate thanks to an independent media; and equally important all candidates being able to campaign on the same footing against a backdrop of equal and universal suffrage. Voters must be confident that their vote can be cast freely in secret and be assured that every vote will be kept secure and counted correctly. The voter must also have confidence that elections will be organised in a neutral and unbiased manner with an independent and impartial judiciary which will swiftly hear complaints.

These are the basic principles which should apply to all elections worldwide - local, parliamentary and Presidential. Principles which ensure there are no ‘cultural differences or traditions’ or ‘regional specificities’ in regard to the basic requirements for an election.

At that time in the 1990s procedures for organising and conducting elections and the principles governing them began to emerge and evolve. Election obsen/ation missions were started and parliamentary organisations formed. Gradually, the practice developed that, after elections had been observed, recommendations were made to assist States in implementing and adhering to these principles. Large numbers of voters celebrated being able to vote for the first time.

However, nearly SO years later times have decidedly changed. Many elections now do not see the large turnout of voters nor the same enthusiasm as before. For the first time we have heard some leaders claim that elections are too pivotal to be left to voters which is obviously the antithesis of what an election should be. So, what has happened since the initial euphoria gripped States in the l99Os and now‘? What has brought about the change? How has this happened and who has done it?

As a generalisation, l think it boils down to the fact that those who are in power want to stay in control and do whatever they think is necessary in order to do so. Corruption appears to be rife and truth in short supply. In addition, there seems to be an apparent lack of understanding by those in power of a very large number of voters particularly the younger ones - frequently highlighted by an absence of contact. There appears to be a gulf between the rulers and the ruled and a consequent feeling of disconnection and lack of representation. This, amongst other causes, has helped to fuel the rise of populism.

So what do those in power do in order to keep themselves there? Large scale ballot box stuffing or throwing their contents in the river and other obvious methods of interfering with an election to a large extent are no longer prevalent. The methods now used to arrange the outcome of an election are more sophisticated. In fact, the outcome of an election can often be determined long before election day.

Let us look now at some of the methods that are used:
# Voter Registration - By deleting bona fide voters from the electoral register, adding fictitious ones and not deleting ‘dead souls’ enables a governing party to make use of those votes to their own advantage.

# Making it difficult for opposition candidates to register, or rejecting their applications on flimsy grounds, or intimidating them or even imprisoning them. All such methods reduce an opposition's ability to compete on a level playing field.

# Vote buying still takes place but a more sophisticated approach now prevails in the form of pressure. This is often targeted towards students, teachers, university lecturers, military personnel and factory workers by pressurising them to vote in a particular way or else they will suffer adverse consequences.

# Forcing the opposition to hold rallies on the outskirts of towns - thereby inhibiting supporters from attending - limits the opposition’s ability to campaign.

# Feeding to voters slanted information, buying up media outlets, restricting the opposition’s ownership of the press, seizing print runs, preventing reporters collecting and reporting information, imprisoning journalists or forcing them to self-censor by making libel a criminal offence and preventing candidates’ access to paid advertising.

# these are all tactics calculated to reduce the ability of the opposition to campaign and voters to hear their campaigning.

# An ineffective legal system which does not deal with complaints swiftly may prevent people being able to vote and contributes to an overall lack of confidence in the system.

# The vote count at the polling station level gives the possibility of manipulation when votes might be changed from one pile to another. There is even greater opportunity to massage the figures when it comes to the tabulation. This again undermines confidence in the system.

# A candidate may have an unfair advantage if there is a lack of transparency and accountability in party funding.

# Another instance is the abuse of incumbency. A government has the responsibility not to abuse state resources in order to support the ruling party’s candidate eg, using government vehicles, office space, opening roads and airports for campaign purposes. These are all forms of abuse.

# Lack of training of election commissions so that mistakes are made and procedures are not followed properly or delayed is another method.

# Fake news, social media, identity politics and even cyber-attacks can also affect election outcomes and referenda.

These are some of the examples used by incumbent parties and their international allies to influence the results of elections. The suspicion by voters that the elections have been interfered with often leads to unpleasant violence.

Any suggestion of sustained and planned ‘vote rigging’ unfortunately calls into question the integrity of the electoral system of a country as a whole. How can these problems be removed in order that fraud and manipulation are at least reduced if not totally eliminated?

One way to do so is to have more accuracy and detail in reporting on the implementation of election standards. We all know of elections where there has been an unconvincing election assessment - whether because of cronyism or politicization - which is blatantly untrue, where the assessment does not fit the facts. To overcome this, I believe it is necessary to secure agreement to assess elections systematically against accepted international standards and to produce a report. Such reports must be based on verifiable data and be presented in a concise yet comprehensive manner. It should also include recommendations for improving the electoral process.

This most certainly is not rocket science because standards exist already in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, regarded by many as customary international law, and in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights to which the majority of States around the world are parties and thereby bound by its provisions.

In addition, there are already regional agreements with provisions relating to elections. The OSCE has its commitments in the Copenhagen Document which all the participating States have committed to uphold - for their elections to be monitored and reported on by election observers. There is also the European Convention on Human Rights which the EU follows and the African Charter on Elections, Democracy and Governance.

There are also the Bangkok Declaration for Free and Fair Elections and the Declaration of Principles for International Election Obsen/ation for Free and Fair Elections. There is even the Declaration of Global Principles for Nonpartisan Election Obsen/ation. It is obvious therefore, there is no lack of international standards.

lt is also encouraging to see that there has been increasing interest in electoral integrity at the civil society and international organisation level drawing upon the wealth of material that exists to scrutinise elections more closely.

What would indeed also be effective is for observation to be taken more seriously. Men in dark suits strolling into a polling station on election day, staying for a few minutes and nodding that everything is satisfactory before going on to the next is not an acceptable standard of observation. Obsen/ation missions need to arrive in a country well in advance of an election in order to observe the whole electoral cycle and to stay long enough after the election to observe the complaints and appeals being addressed by the relevantjudicial bodies.

Didactic though it may sound, the most effective way to obsen/e an election is to complete a form in each polling station - a form which requires detailed information. When collected, these forms provide an accurate picture of what happens in polling stations throughout the country with regard to voter registration, the operation of the electoral commissions, if voters were influenced, counting the votes and other aspects of the election process. With this information it is possible to identify the shortfalls in the operation of the election and to make practical recommendations to improve the system.

Suggestions can also be made in relation to improving election legislation, executive decisions, the role of the judiciary and the actions of the government. This can assist the state concerned on itsjourney down the democratic pathway.

Unfortunately, recommendations that are made are rarely acted upon by the States concerned. In order for recommendations to be effective, there should be periodic reviews of the country concerned to see if and how they are implementing them, including visits and mid- term public reports. These reports on implementation compiled by observers should be discussed on a regular basis by their sending body in order to make obsen/ation efficacious With the general turnout for elections seemingly dwindling for one reason or another and people not having the time to queue for hours to vote, what else can be done to reverse this trend? If this indifference continues countries are likely to store up difficulties and problems for themselves in the future.

Electronic voting and counting is one way of speeding up the electoral process and limits the ability of election staff to interfere in the process. But the important issue here is to ensure that the voters have confidence can be sure that it has not been programmed to allow one party to receive more votes than others. In countries where there is such confidence the system works well and saves a great deal of time. Where confidence is lacking it obviously does not.

One of the reasons for the reduction in voter turnout is the disconnect which many voters feel exists between themselves and the politicians. To overcome this alienisation governing parties need to reach out more to the public to find out what are their concerns, what are their needs and requirements rather than rely on their own interpretation of what the voter wants This is particularly important with younger generations who in many instances do not find resonance with any party and feel discarded and abandoned.

Consideration could perhaps be given to allowing 16-year olds to vote to help reduce this disconnect. After all there are many things that 16-year olds can do legally. So why not have the right to vote? As potential future politicians in their country, they need the experience and opportunity to become involved in politics at an early age.

What one has to bear in mind however is that, despite the attempts to undermine, marginalise and even eliminate oppositions around the world, voters in many instances are making a greater effort than ever before to coordinate among themselves and to turn out and vote in order to seek more effective representation. The young, in particular, along with many other people in society are tired of being under represented in Parliament and are becoming more vocal in expressing their views. Their greater participation and engagement with elections gives us hope that corruption will not prevail in the long term.

International assistance should be given to them. We must not disappoint those who are prepared to fight for meaningful elections and integrity in the electoral process. We owe it to them to ensure that they will succeed. As citizens energetically demonstrate their commitment to democracy, so the authorities in different countries need to step up and make the effort to meet those demands.

Written by: Dame Audrey Glover, DBE:
is a renowned expert in election observation and since 2004 she has headed 18 election observation missions on behalf of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) including the presidential elections in the USA (2016), Albania (2015), Spain (2015), Hungary (2014), Bulgaria (2014), Ukraine (2012) and Azerbaijan (2011). After reading law at King’s College, London, Dame Audrey was called to the Bar where she practiced before joining the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office as a legal adviser. in 1998 Dame Audrey left the ODIHR to become the Leader of the UK Delegation to the UN Human Rights Commission, a post she held for six years.