OSCE/ODIHR shares expertise with citizen election observer groups in Tunisia

The OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) provided expertise on effective election observation reporting at a workshop for leaders of Tunisian citizen election observer groups in Tunis on 16 and 17 May 2013.

During the event, the participants discussed their experiences from past observation work, while experts shared best practices on the drafting of election observation reports and recommendations on the basis of international standards.

“Election observation is not an end in itself, but also assists countries in developing good practice with regard to international electoral standards,” said Richard Lappin, a Senior Election Adviser at ODIHR. “Timely and public reporting, including the provision of clear and implementable recommendations, can play an important role in helping authorities improve their electoral processes.”

The workshop was organized by Democracy Reporting International, with expertise provided by ODIHR. Participants were also provided with election observation handbooks, recently translated into Arabic as part of the Office’s broader “Programme on Increasing Understanding of the OSCE Human Dimension”.

The programme includes a number of projects and activities designed to share ODIHR expertise in the fields of elections, democratization and human rights, as well as to support dialogue, exchange of good practice and knowledge transfer between OSCE participating States and the Mediterranean Partners for Co-operation.