UN Photo - HaitiIn a NY Times Op Ed of January 7, 2008, Edward P. Joseph, a visiting fellow at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, points to the great need for further development and action by the UN Department of Political Affairs Electoral Assistance Division in preventing and in assisting with national elections in global trouble spots. He takes the assassination of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto in Pakistan and the turmoil after the Kenyan elections as cases in point for strengthening and using this UN institution in its preventive capacity, and not just in election monitoring.
His full article can be read at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/07/opinion/07joseph.html?th&emc=th
Information about the Electoral Assistance Division can be found at http://www.un.org/Depts/dpa/ead/overview.html
His full article can be read at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/07/opinion/07joseph.html?th&emc=th
Information about the Electoral Assistance Division can be found at http://www.un.org/Depts/dpa/ead/overview.html
The most recent biennial report by the Division available online is from October 2005, General Assembly document A/60/431. This excerpt shows the complexity of the Division's work, and what is needed going forward.
"2. During the period under review, the involvement of the United Nations in assisting the democratic processes of its Member States was highly visible. The images of voters in Afghanistan in October 2004 and a few months later in Iraq, in January 2005, were vivid reminders of the promise of democracy and of the power of the ballot box to transform subjects of dictatorship or victims of civil war into citizens able to exercise their political rights. United Nations involvement in both of these processes was critical to their success. While these highly visible processes were taking place, the United Nations was also supporting post-conflict elections in Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Haiti and Liberia. At the same
time, technical assistance was being provided in numerous countries to improve their electoral processes — work that is less visible but no less important.
"2. During the period under review, the involvement of the United Nations in assisting the democratic processes of its Member States was highly visible. The images of voters in Afghanistan in October 2004 and a few months later in Iraq, in January 2005, were vivid reminders of the promise of democracy and of the power of the ballot box to transform subjects of dictatorship or victims of civil war into citizens able to exercise their political rights. United Nations involvement in both of these processes was critical to their success. While these highly visible processes were taking place, the United Nations was also supporting post-conflict elections in Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Haiti and Liberia. At the same
time, technical assistance was being provided in numerous countries to improve their electoral processes — work that is less visible but no less important.
3. Despite manifest successes, the capacity of the United Nations in providing electoral assistance remains overstretched. As noted in the previous report under this agenda item, we continue to risk becoming the victims of our own success. Effectiveness increases demand, but the latter is not followed by a concomitant increase in resources to maintain that effectiveness.
4. The complexity, variety and quantity of the electoral assistance being requested of the United Nations are such that we must look beyond the simple consolidation and coordination of existing assets. Additional assets must be provided and more creative synergies must be found within the United Nations system to unlock existing potential. There are increasing demands for
democratization characterized by: (a) the holding of elections in places where credible elections have not generally been held; (b) a recognition among “mature” democracies that reforms are required to solve problems unaddressed for too long and to take advantage of new technologies; and (c) a strengthening of the consensus at an international level that democracy is a key means to preserving the dignity and fundamental rights of individuals, to advancing the Millennium Development Goals and to fostering a geopolitical climate that is favourable to international peace.
4. The complexity, variety and quantity of the electoral assistance being requested of the United Nations are such that we must look beyond the simple consolidation and coordination of existing assets. Additional assets must be provided and more creative synergies must be found within the United Nations system to unlock existing potential. There are increasing demands for
democratization characterized by: (a) the holding of elections in places where credible elections have not generally been held; (b) a recognition among “mature” democracies that reforms are required to solve problems unaddressed for too long and to take advantage of new technologies; and (c) a strengthening of the consensus at an international level that democracy is a key means to preserving the dignity and fundamental rights of individuals, to advancing the Millennium Development Goals and to fostering a geopolitical climate that is favourable to international peace.
5. The United Nations, along with several key international partners, has developed a set of practices over the years that have proved to be effective. The consistent defence of these practices in implementing successful electoral projects has given the United Nations a high degree of credibility on elections. Begun amid some scepticism that electoral assistance might encroach on national sovereignty or impose a single model of democracy, United Nations electoral assistance now serves as a recognized arbiter of norms in a period when an increasing number of actors — international, regional and subregional, governmental and non-governmental, profit and non-profit — are providing electoral assistance. The United Nations is thus in a logical position, by mandate and experience, to lead the promotion of the principle of genuine and periodic elections at a time when it is high in the international agenda."
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