AS PART OF its commitment to human rights and democracy, Ireland nominates citizens for international election observation missions every year.
The current roster, which came into effect this week, includes about 200 people with previous experience of elections or public office. They will participate, on a voluntary basis, in missions organised by the OSCE, the EU, the Council of Europe, the United Nations and the Carter Centre in various countries across the globe.
According to Irish Aid, election observation by independent observers is an important way of supporting countries during the transition to democracy.
The application form for Irish citizens requires details of previous election process experience, computer skills, language proficiency and knowledge of human rights issue. Irish Aid noted that when it reviewed the roster this year, it particularly looked at maintaining the strong language proficiency of those included.
Last year, 60 Irish observers were deployed on observation missions.
A recent parliamentary question to the Foreign Affairs Department queried the appointment and selection procedure as the presence of some former politicians on the list lead some quarters to believe the trips could be likened to political junkets.
This is not the case, one former observer told TheJournal.ie. The majority of people on the missions are those with an interest in human rights, political processes and travel. The expenses paid do not offer profit and the accommodations provided are not luxurious. “Holes in the ground” is how one place was described.
“Some people thought we were milking the system but that was not the case. We were up until four or five in the morning in small rooms watching people count. It is interesting to us but its not because we were staying in hotels and being flown to various places.
“We were not flown in and ‘put up’ as some people said.”
Junior Minister Joe Costello said he was satisfied that the selection process is “fair and transparent”.
The cost to Ireland for sending people on missions relates only to the expenses of the observers sent. Each person receives a daily allowance to cover the cost of food, accommodation and all other out-of-pocket expenses. A return air ticket from Dublin Airport and insurance cover is also provided.
In addition, those who participate in missions will receive a grant of €600 to cover all pre-departure expenses such as doctors visits, inoculations, travel to Dublin for briefings and travel to/from the airport. This grant is paid only once in any twelve-month period.
In the case of EU missions, all costs are covered by the European Commission with the exception of the pre-departure grant of €600. For OSCE missions, the costs of Irish observers, over and above the pre-departure grant are fully met by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
So far this year, €26,682 has been spent sending 18 observers on five missions. One of those missions was headed by Fine Gael deputy Eoin Murphy. He said that at its best, observation missions “help keep trust and integrity in a system in which we are all invested” and that his team’s presence in Sofia, Bulgaria earlier this month should not be viewed as any sort of step back.
Time on a mission
Election observers can be classed as either short-term (up to 2 weeks) or long-term (up to eight weeks), depending on how many election phases are covered.
A long-term observer (LTO) is expected to gain first-hand knowledge about the effectiveness and impartiality of the pre-election administration; the implementation of the election law and regulations; the nature of the campaign; and the political environment prior to voting day. They will then help short-term observers (STOs) to “place Election Day observations within an informed context”.
The objective of the short-term observation is to meet the more ‘classical’ duties of election observation, providing a broad presence throughout the country to asses the closing days, the day itself and the vote count.
Each year, members can be contacted about 14 missioner per year but because of the level of interest, selection is highly competitive. Usually, members are nominated for no more than one observation every two to three years.
If you think you would be interested in joining Ireland’s roster, the next review will take place in five years. In the meantime, it would be advisable to volunteer at count centres, run for office and brush up on your foreign language skills.
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