How Election Observation Works: Observers, Missions and Reports

Election observation is the independent watching of an election by people who have no stake in the result, to assess whether it was run in line with the country's own laws and with international standards. Observers do not run the election, count the votes or declare winners. They gather information about the whole process, from the legal framework and voter registration to the campaign, polling, counting and complaints, and then publish their findings. Observers can be domestic, usually citizen groups, or international, sent by organisations such as the African Union, the Southern African Development Community (SADC) or the European Union.

A short history

The first monitored election is usually dated to an 1857 plebiscite in Moldavia and Wallachia, in what is now Romania. For a long time observation remained rare: fewer than 10% of elections were observed in the 1960s. By the 2000s, about 80% were. Today international missions are regularly sent by the African Union, the European Union, the Organization of American States, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe and the Council of Europe, among others. The United Nations now concentrates on electoral assistance rather than sending observers itself.

Domestic and international observers

	Domestic observers	International observers
Who they are	Citizens of the country, usually organised in non-partisan civil society groups or coalitions	Experts and observers from intergovernmental bodies or international organisations
How they get access	Accredited by the national electoral authorities under national law	Usually invited by the host country or its electoral authority, then accredited
Typical tools	Long-term observation across the election cycle; parallel vote tabulations or "quick counts"	Long-term and short-term observers; preliminary statements and final reports
Standards	Declaration of Global Principles for Non-Partisan Election Observation and Monitoring by Citizen Organizations	Declaration of Principles for International Election Observation (2005)

Non-partisan observers should not be confused with party agents. Parties and candidates often have their own representatives at polling stations and counts. They play an important part in checking the process, but they are there to protect one side's interests, so they are not neutral observers.

What observers do, step by step

Before polling day

Good observation starts well before the vote. Core experts and long-term observers arrive weeks in advance to look at:

• the legal framework and any recent changes to election law;
• the work and independence of the electoral commission;
• voter registration and the voters' roll;
• the registration of parties and candidates;
• the campaign, including freedom of assembly and expression;
• media coverage and access to state media.

Missions meet the electoral commission and candidates' representatives, and co-ordinate with other observer missions. The African Union, under its Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance, first sends an exploratory mission to judge whether conditions are in place for a transparent, free and fair election.

On polling day

Short-term observers usually join the mission in the final days. Working in small teams, they visit polling stations to watch the opening, voting, closing and counting, collecting largely quantitative information that can be compared across the country. They do not interfere: if they see a problem they may raise it with the officials in charge, but they never give instructions or overrule election staff.

After polling day

Counting, tabulation and the announcement of results all need watching, as do complaints and court challenges. Long-term observers often stay on after short-term observers leave to follow this post-election phase. Domestic groups that run parallel vote tabulations use a statistical sample of polling station results to check the official figures, and their reports should explain the sample and the margin of error.

The rules observers follow

The Declaration of Principles for International Election Observation and its accompanying Code of Conduct were launched at United Nations headquarters in New York on 27 October 2005. The project began informally in 2001 at the initiative of the National Democratic Institute and the UN Electoral Assistance Division, with the Carter Center acting as secretariat. More than 20 organisations took part in the launch, including the African Union, the Electoral Institute of Southern Africa and the SADC Parliamentary Forum. International IDEA lists 55 intergovernmental and international organisations as endorsing it.

Endorsing organisations commit, among other things, to:

• act impartially;
• observe all stages of the election process, not just polling day;
• accept no funding from the host government;
• avoid sending missions in a way that lends undue legitimacy to undemocratic elections.

The standards also set conditions that host countries should meet, such as freedom of movement for observers, freedom to make public statements and free access to information.

Citizen observer groups have their own equivalent, the Declaration of Global Principles for Non-Partisan Election Observation and Monitoring by Citizen Organizations, which calls for long-term observation across the whole election cycle and impartial, accurate reporting.

African Union and SADC missions

African Union observation missions base their methods on the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance, the 2002 OAU/AU Declaration on the Principles Governing Democratic Elections in Africa, the AU Guidelines for Election Observation and Monitoring Missions, and the 2005 Declaration of Principles. A typical mission combines long-term and short-term observers drawn from many African countries. Under the Charter, missions must be independent and impartial, and report to the Chairperson of the AU Commission, with a copy going to the country concerned.

SADC sends its own Electoral Observation Missions (SEOMs) under its Principles and Guidelines Governing Democratic Elections, which were revised in 2015. A mission is formed only after an invitation from the electoral authority of the country holding the election, and it observes the pre-election period, election day and the post-election phase. SADC observers follow a code of conduct that requires strict impartiality, no partisan symbols or colours, and reports based on documented, verifiable evidence.

Statements, reports and what happens to them

Most missions publish two documents:

1. A preliminary statement, issued shortly after polling day. It covers the process only up to the time it is issued, which means it cannot judge later stages such as final results or court challenges.
2. A final report, published weeks or months later, with a detailed assessment of the whole process and recommendations for improvement. SADC's 2004 guidelines asked for the final report within 30 days of the results.

Observers do not certify results and cannot directly prevent fraud. Their influence comes from recording and reporting what they see. Electoral commissions, parliaments and governments can use their recommendations when reforming electoral law, citizens and parties can compare one election with the next, and the findings can affect how an election is seen at home and abroad. Because of that weight, the quality of observation matters. A 2024 study that ranked 20 observer organisations found wide differences in quality, and common standards such as the 2005 Declaration are meant to give observers a shared baseline for professional, impartial work.