Last week, EPDE board member Zofia Lutkiewicz participated in the OSCE Human Dimension meeting on election observation to speak about the situation of domestic observers.

Main points addressed:

1. Citizen election observers play a vital role for election integrity, citizen engagement and following processes closely also between election cycles.
2. International observers and domestic observers benefit greatly from increased cooperation especially in monitoring the implementation of recommendations and innovation in election observation methodology.
3. The dire situation of election observers in countries like Azerbaijan, Belarus, Russia, unlawful imprisonment for our colleagues, and shrinking spaces of civil society due to Russian-style “foreign agent” laws Kyrgyzstan and Georgia.
4. Need to strengthen and provide sustainable support to domestic observers and regional networks as these are the places where capacity building and knowledge transfer happen.
5. Pending implementation of recommendations on election observation among OSCE Member States. This includes legal provisions on domestic observers – for instance, only 9 out of the EU27 have specific provisions in place, as EPDE analyzed in 2023: http://bit.ly/4allKh7

We are very thankful for the opportunity to share our perspectives and work together for improved election observation across the OSCE region.

📷 Credits: Micky Kroell/OSCE