The integrity of elections

Holding elections is not rocket science. But upholding the integrity of elections is another matter.

Elections take place on a weekly basis around the world – not all of them in democratic countries, and not all of them marked by fair electoral competition. One such election took place recently in Russia, where the 4 December State Duma elections were marked by fraud and a total lack of the conditions for fair electoral competition.

The report of the international observers of the Russian elections reads like a shopping list for those who wish to manipulate elections: denial of registration to political parties; disbanding of certain parties; heavy media bias; use by the governing party of State resources in the campaign; legal rights to assembly not upheld; lack of an independent electoral administration; inconsistent application of the law; undue interference by the State at all levels; and, last but not least, ballot box stuffing.

There are now more challenges than ever to the integrity of elections in the form of incumbency, violence, corruption, the penetration of politics by crime, the lack of women’s participation and low voter turnout. Added to these are the particular challenges of managing elections in countries in transition, such as Egypt, or in countries lacking any credible institutions, such as Libya. A common global challenge is the need to integrate new forms of technology and media in a way which bolsters, rather than undermines, the integrity of electoral processes.

Despite accumulated technical expertise on elections globally, there is often a consistent lack of fairness in electoral processes. This points to the fact that the integrity of elections is a political, rather than a technical issue, and that it is therefore at the political level that this problem will be resolved.

There is clearly political will at the level of the citizen, as people repeatedly demonstrate in favour of upholding the integrity of elections – citizens do not want to engage in a meaningless process which allows power to remain in the hands of a few. Citizens in Yemen, Tunisia, Egypt and elsewhere have been protesting for fair elections, in the face of the highly flawed elections which have been held in the Arab region for many years. In Russia, volunteer electoral observers posted online video clips of ballot box stuffing and citizens have mobilized peacefully and in large numbers to protest against electoral fraud.

Political will in favour of supporting the integrity of elections can also be created and supported through the work of actors such as International IDEA. In our new Strategy for 2012-17, IDEA recognizes that technical knowledge can foster democratic change only when the critical political will is present. In the electoral field, we are working as partners with the Kofi Annan Foundation on the ‘Global Commission on Elections, Democracy and Security’, through which global leaders seek to build the political will to address the main challenges to the integrity of elections. This month, IDEA has also convened representatives of more than twenty Electoral Management Bodies (EMBs) from all continents to identify ways in which they can collaborate to address the challenges to electoral processes. And this week we have sat down with officials from the Pacific, Latin America, Africa, Asia and Europe in order to work out how best to bolster the work of regional organizations in supporting elections. In addition, and in response to the debate on how best to harness technology in support of electoral processes, IDEA has just published recommendations based on the experiences of more than ten countries in using electronic voting.

Support for electoral processes has been at the core of IDEA’s work since our establishment in 1995, and, through our new Strategy, addressing the persistent challenges to the integrity of elections will remain a critical area of IDEA’s work over the next six years.

I wish our readers and your families all health and happiness for the festive season and 2012.

Secretary-General, International IDEA

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