If managed properly, electoral observation has the power to be a significant means of assessing not only the conduct and outcome of an election and the electoral system, but also to provide good indications on the state of democratic institutions in any given country. International IDEA is set to play a lead role in improving the ability of EU election observers to provide more informed and comprehensive assessments of electoral processes through the Network for Enhanced Electoral and Democratic Support (NEEDS) project.
The NEEDS will focus on the following three areas:
- Developing a consistent methodology for EU Election Observation Missions (EU EOMs) in line with international and regional standards for democratic elections.
- Improving EU observers’ capabilities through the development of a common EU approach to the recruitment and training of observers; and
- Strengthening the democratic process in third countries through targeted support and capacity building for domestic observer groups and other relevant civil society organizations.
The NEEDS Project office is located in Brussels, where most of the training and research activity will be carried out. The first training course for long-term observers took place in Brussels in February 2009.
Funded by the European Commission, the NEEDS project will focus on providing electoral observers a much deeper understanding of electoral systems and processes in order to increase their capacity to provide targeted recommendations for democratic reform. The overall objective is to ensure that the international and national observers’ recommendations are taken into account when determining democracy assistance priorities in the post-electoral period; and to become an effective instrument to facilitate dialogue between elected representatives, civil society and political parties.
“We believe that good recommendations could set the agenda for the next cycle of democracy assistance”, says International IDEA’s Domenico Tuccinardi, the Project Director for the NEEDS project. “This is particularly in line with the electoral cycle approach to electoral assistance support where we envisage the observation playing the key role in identifying weaknesses and areas of enhancement for the democratic institutions of a country. The recommendations of the observers would basically provide the elements for a good democratic dialogue and open up opportunities for reforms in the post-electoral period”.
International IDEA (as the lead organization) began work in October 2008 on this three-year project together with partner organizations - the International Organization for Migration (IOM), EISA, IIDH-CAPEL and Internews Europe.
“After analysing the terms of reference of the new NEEDS, International IDEA decided to bid for this project and then we won with a proposal which was centred on the synergies between electoral observation and electoral assistance and linking it all with the Paris Agenda on Aid Effectiveness. The project is also offering International IDEA a great opportunity to foster its cooperation with the European Commission in establishing a stronger cooperation in democracy and development initiativesm” says Tuccinardi.
