This article is about monitoring by independent observers. For monitoring by agents of candidates, see Polling agent and Counting agent.
Internationally observed electionsInternationally observed elections by Western monitors
Election monitoring involves the observation of an election by one or more independent parties, typically from another country or from a non-governmental organization (NGO). The monitoring parties aim primarily to assess the conduct of an election process on the basis of national legislation and of international election standards. There are national and international election observers.
Monitors do not directly prevent electoral fraud, but rather record and report instances of suspicious practices. The monitoring may serve to disincentivize, prevent or minimize practices that undermine election quality,[1][2] as well as election-related violence.[3] Election observation increasingly looks at the entire electoral process over a long period of time, rather than at election-day proceedings only. The legitimacy of an election can be affected by the criticism of monitors, unless they are themselves seen as biased.[4] A notable individual is often appointed honorary leader of a monitoring organization in an effort to enhance legitimacy of the monitoring process.
Scholars distinguish between election monitoring organizations in terms of quality.[5] Some election monitors, often those with ties to authoritarian states, validate elections even when they are blatantly flawed.[5][6]
History
The first monitored election was that of an 1857 plebiscite in Moldavia and Wallachia (current Romania) that was monitored by most of the major European powers. Election monitoring was uncommon until after World War II. During the 1960s, less than 10% of elections were monitored.[7] Election observation activities have expanded significantly following the end of the Cold War, along with the development of international standards on the conduct of democratic elections and the process of monitoring elections by both international[8] and domestic[9] observing organizations. By the 2000s, about 80% of all elections were observed.[7]
International observation is complemented in many countries by domestic observer groups.
A 2024 study categorized election monitoring organizations in terms of their quality.[5] Of the 20 most-frequent election monitoring organizations, these were ranked as high-quality:
OSCE/ODIHR
European Union
European Union Parliament
Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe
OSCE Parliamentary Assembly
Organization of American States
Carter Center
The Commonwealth
National Democratic Institute
Electoral Institute for Sustainable Democracy in Africa
International Republican Institute
These were ranked middle quality:
African Union
Inter-American Union of Electoral Bodies
International Organization of the Francophonie
Economic Community of West African States
Arab League
These were ranked low-quality:
Commonwealth of Independent States
Southern African Development Community
The Electoral Commissions Forum of SADC Countries
Shanghai Cooperation Organisation
Organization of Islamic Cooperation
International election monitoring
International Election Observer identification badge issued during the 1989 Namibian election
Standard international election observation missions, as deployed by, for the example, the European Commission or the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), monitor the entire electoral process. Election experts and long-term observers begin their work weeks before the actual election day, looking at candidate registration, the legal framework, the media situation, the work of the election administration, and the campaign environment. On election day, short-term observers monitor the opening of polling stations, the vote cast, and the counting and tabulation of results. After election day, observers remain in the country for another few weeks to monitor how possible election-related shortcomings and complaints are dealt with by the election administration and the judiciary. The findings of the observers are made public in reports issued after election day.
A 2026 study found that the presence of election monitors lead to greater reporting of electoral violence, showing that election monitors uncovered information of problematic election conduct.[11]
Long-term observers
Most observation missions send a small number of long-term monitors (known as LTOs) for a period of six to eight weeks. A larger number of short-term observers (known as STOs) then join the mission for the final week of the campaign. STOs provide mostly quantitative observation of polling station and count procedures, with LTOs supplying qualitative analysis and contextual information about the wider political situation.[citation needed]
The most common type of domestic election monitoring comes by way of party poll-watchers, who are partisan individuals that are looking out for the interests of their party. Election day activities of partisan observation groups often included scrutinizing the accreditation, voting, counting, and tabulations processes at polling units throughout election day.
There are also numerous domestic nonpartisan observer groups in many countries.
Each jurisdiction may have different rules about who may observe. Rules vary by state in the United States.[17]
Local and regional election monitoring
Most international observer organizations have a mandate to observe parliamentary elections and some organizations, such as the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), also monitor local elections and referendums.[18] However, the Congress of the Council of Europe, in cooperation with the Venice Commission, is specifically mandated to monitor local and regional elections and is unique in this regard.[19] Since 1990, over 50 election processes have been observed by the Congress.
The Congress Strategy on election observation is based on three lines of action:
Election monitoring by the Congress should contribute to setting up institutional frameworks which comply with the principles underlying local democracy as laid down in the European Charter of Local Self-Government. In light of this, the Congress puts the accent on post-election dialogue as part of the Congress' work on monitoring of local and regional democracy. The aim is to improve the follow-up given to the recommendations adopted by the Congress following election observation missions and to facilitate their implementation.
Election monitoring by the Congress should contribute to promoting awareness about the significance of democracy at the local and regional level.
Making full use of the unique role of the Congress in the field of election observation, efforts are also made to increase the operational capability of election observation missions.
↑Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), "Election Observation Handbook: Sixth Edition," OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) (2010).
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