The place and role of official observers from foreign states and international organizations in elections: the experience of Ukraine and foreign countries

The article states that formation of representative state and local self-governmental authorities is an important stage of state formation. And the legitimacy of both their conduct and the representative public authorities in Ukraine depends on the extent to which it will be carried out within the framework of the election legislation and the extent to which the domestic legislator will provide anti-fraud factors and safeguards against mass violations of various elections. National and foreign practice proves that the institution of election monitoring that is represented by various observers who contribute to the conduct of election campaigns on a democratic basis in accordance with the electoral standards developed by the international community, is rather effective in this respect. In Ukraine, the status of official observers is granted to: 1) official observers from candidates, parties (organizations of parties) - subjects of the election process, 2) official observers from public organizations which are duly authorized to have official observers in the relevant elections, 3) official observers from foreign states and international organizations who can observe the election process. The Electoral Code of Ukraine defines the status of official observers differently, in particular, official observers from foreign states and international organizations are not recognized as subjects of the election process. However, this does not diminish their role in monitoring the electoral process in Ukraine by the legality of the actions of its subjects. The introduction of the institution of official observers from foreign states and international organizations is seen as expression of trust between states and as evidence of the intention of these countries and international organizations to contribute to the democratization of the electoral process in the world. The paper reveals the legal nature of official observers from foreign states and international organizations, highlights the standards of legal status of official observers from foreign states and international organizations developed by international organizations, considers national and foreign experience of legal regulation of their status and substantiates provisions on necessity for improvement of national electoral legislation on this basis.

Encouraging Popular Political Participation and Effective Election Monitoring Through Whatsapp Social Media Platforms

Nigeria and Nigerians have witnessed different kinds of electoral frauds since the return to democracy in 1999. Counting from the 1999 general election in Nigeria, the 2019 general election is the 6th general elections conducted in the country. Unfortunately, none of these elections have been considered to be free and fair as there are always public outcries from one end to another against the results of the elections as a result of lack of transparency in the process. Drawing from this background, this study, examines whether heavy use of WhatsApp platforms by different political parties in the election encouraged popular participation and effective monitoring of the electoral processes. The study which examined a total of 318 respondents sampled from select WhatsApp groups of the two leading political parties adopted the survey research method with the social media engagement and technological acceptance theories as its theoretical framework to ascertain whether the use of WhatsApp platforms by political parties encouraged popular participation among the electorate and determine if WhatsApp platforms were helpful to parties in monitoring the 2019 general election as well as its processes. Findings revealed that WhatsApp use encouraged popular participation and electoral process monitoring. The researchers recommended that the political parties and the electoral umpire should engage more in the use of social media platforms in passing information during, on and after election to encourage transparency in leadership.

Nigerian Civil Society Situation Room (NCSSR) and Electioneering Process in Nigeria (2015–2019)

Civil society organizations have played a pivotal role in democratization process in Nigeria since the advent of the Fourth Republic. They have greatly helped in the success of the 2015 and 2019 General Elections through pre-election, during election, and in post-election monitoring and advocacy. This article, therefore, examined the role of the Nigerian Civil Society Situation Room (NCSSR) in improving the election in Nigeria during the 2015 and 2019 General Elections. While many civil societies flourished recently in Nigeria, their role toward democratization and facilitating credible election remain insignificant until in the 2015 and 2019 General Elections where their activities helped immensely the process of a credible election. A Civil Society as the Third Tier of Government framework was adopted as a theoretical explanation of the context of the work. The research used a qualitative case study method of data collection where informants consisting of members of NCSSR, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), and academicians were selected for the interview and Focus Group Discussion. The total number selected was 16 from the three identified categories. The research discovered that the NCSSR aided the process and fairness of the 2015 and 2019 General Elections through proper monitoring, civic voter education, active collaboration with electoral body (INEC), and collaboration with international donor agencies through what they called “Civil Society Situation Room” which consist of more than 60 registered civil societies. The research recommends that civil societies should be empowered with constitutional backing and independent funding to enable them carry out their responsibilities adequately. Also, the article recommends that the electoral body (INEC) should liaise more and cooperate with civil societies to enable them conduct good and credible elections in future.

URGENSI KEBERADAAN LEMBAGA PEMANTAU PEMILIHAN SEBAGAI PENGAWAL SUARA KOLOM KOSONG

This study aims to examine and analyze the active participation of the people as the holder of the highest sovereignty in the implementation of the Regional Head Election (Pilkada) in order to run with justice, with full responsibility and avoid elements of violations. This study uses the juridical normative method with the consideration that the research undertaken seeks to determine the extent to which the reality of the application of a rule. The results of this study conclude that the arrangement regarding the Election Monitoring Institution (LPP) in the Pilkada seems to be positioned as mere informants without sufficient strength, besides that there is also a real condition that if the fate of the LPP is indeed in intersection, they are encouraged to stay alive but are only given a few resources, so that strengthening the LPP is an absolute prerequisite for realizing justice in Pilkada.

Empire

Frontiers on land and bodies are performative of imperial expansion and acceleration. This chapter argues that frontier sites are especially productive of imperial formations, as they expose inconsistencies and excesses that are met with a particular rage and discipline. As such, frontier sites are productive of iterations of imperial violence, which includes the construction of new infrastructures and technologies of violence, as well as the discursive justification for this violent apparatus. Palestine is a frontier of imperial formations that is productive of war technologies, but also a site where debates over the legitimization of the use of this violence takes place. Performances on the frontiers of empire such as Palestine are constitutive of subject and subjectivities on resistance and settler colonialism in global politics. The marking of Hamas as terrorists is central to the coding and interpretations of Palestine in public discourses. The democratic election of Hamas troubled the coding of the movement as an illegitimate terrorist Other, which was met with a performative anxiety and rage by the European Union. The EU had headed the election-monitoring mission in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, and they had declared the elections transparent, free. and fair. Their response, however, was to diplomatically and financially sanction Hamas, which had profound consequences for Palestinian governance. Hamas and Gaza exposed fault lines in empire’s attempt to defend its use of violence. and as such they are also productive of new forms of enacting imperial violence. The chapter explores the performances of Tania El Khoury, whose work uses intimate scenes and audience interactivity to foreground the pain and oppression of imperial violence. Performance acts as a cultural frontier that negotiates and expresses subversive and resistant meanings of violence in global politics.

Dual Effects of Democracy Promotion: Evidence from International Election Observation Data of Myanmar’s General Elections

Since the 1990s, international election observation, as an important way of election monitoring, has become increasingly active on the international stage. By inviting international election observation missions (IEOMs) to conduct election monitoring, the nascent democracies not only hope to promote democracy and enhance its legitimacy, but also tend to reduce international sanctions and improve relations with the West. The international election observation of Myanmar’s two general elections in 2010 and 2015 is an important sample to observe Myanmar’s democratic process and its interaction with the international community. IEOMs in Myanmar have witnessed diverse situations from being rejected to being invited, from being independently observed to participating and from slamming elections to praising them. In the 2015 general elections, IEOMs had an important impact on Myanmar’s democratic transition, but in essence, their limitations were only surrounding the election-related matters. The work done by many international election observation organizations has been limited to the procedural level of democracy, and could not help Myanmar to further the institution-building. General elections in Myanmar are due in 2020. Currently, many IEOMs have traveled to Myanmar for election observation, but it is yet to be decided whether it will contribute to good governance in Myanmar.