Mediterranean Programme - [04/15/2008]

What is electoral observation for? And why monitor elections in the Mediterranean and in the Arab-Muslim world?

Governments - including the government of Catalonia - need to design a road map for the next four or five years that will set priorities and objectives with respect to participating in processes of election monitoring and observing. Electoral processes in the Maghreb region and Palestine are particularly deserving of attention as being priority countries for Catalan external action. Another such country is Pakistan, the country of origin of a significant number of Catalan citizens. Furthermore, analysis of elections in these countries should not give in to cultural particularisms, but should instead be carried out using the same instruments that are employed to study electoral processes in other geographical areas.

These are three of the conclusions that were reached at a work meeting held on 9 April, and which was jointly organised by the CIDOB Foundation, the Office for the Promotion of Peace and Human Rights of the Generalitat of Catalonia and the Electoral Observatory of the International Mediterranean Studies Workshop (Autonomous University of Madrid). The session brought together approximately 20 academics and representatives of public administrations who shared their experiences in the area of electoral observation and monitoring in Arab and Mediterranean countries, as well as in other regions. The objective of the meeting was to come up with proposals for improving future electoral monitoring missions.

Greater coordination and planning, prioritisation, identification of objectives and collaboration with academia and civil society (both those of the country being observed and of the observers) - these are just a few of the points that participants agreed on at the meeting. However, some participants expressed certain viewpoints (or doubts, to say the least) with respect to the appropriateness of partially determining cooperation with development in accordance with the results of these electoral monitoring missions, as well as the possible added value that could be gained if such missions were carried out by local administrations.

As a result of the interest aroused by this meeting, the high quality of the addresses and the original nature of some of the proposals made, the host organisations agreed to continue with these efforts, beginning by publishing a policy paper and studying how to design and implement this road map, which the meeting's participants agreed was so necessary.

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