The role of international organisations in election monitoring

Abstract

This thesis is an attempt to analyse the role of international organisations in election observation, and how their work can be used to help in the diffusion of democracy. The first chapter of this thesis entitled, 'Human Rights in elections and election procedure' analyses the human rights breaches with respect to campaign environment among other scenarios of breaches of human rights during elections. The second chapter entitled 'An appreciation of various case studies in election observation and monitoring,' is the longest chapter as expected in this thesis once it covers a wide spectrum of case studies that include both emerging democracies and traditional democracies in the world. The third chapter entitled 'The Maltese Electoral position and International Organisations,' is a comprehensive short study about the Maltese position with particular reference also to the International organisations, Organisation for the Security and Cooperation in Europe/Office for the Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, that also concluded a comprehensive report about particular aspects in electioneering in Malta. The fourth chapter entitled 'A critical analysis between the Organisation for the Security and Cooperation in Europe/Office for the Democratic Institutions, the Organisation for the Security and Cooperation in Europe Parliamentary Assembly, the European Union and others', shows some differences in the working methodology and to some extent lobbying among the same international organisations in their concluding reports about election monitoring The fifth chapter entitled, 'Elections - A true reflection of democracy?', relates problems that remain ever present in democracy even if the election observation reports of international organisations may show otherwise.