Head of mission

The head of mission has overall responsibility for the mission.

"As head of mission, you have to oversee everything that goes on, and that can often involve the work of five hundred or six hundred people," says Peter Eicher, a former First Deputy Director of the ODIHR who has also headed a number of observation missions.

"In addition to being responsible for day-to-day decisions in the mission, you're also the public face of the mission. That means spending a lot of time with government officials, political parties, NGOs, the media, and with the diplomatic community to ensure that they all understand the mission's role, activities, and, ultimately, its findings."

Eicher says that the biggest challenge in election observation is "being sure to get it right". "Election observation missions and the conclusions they draw are important. They deal with the most critical and politically sensitive issues facing any country. Just as we're watching a country conduct an election, they're watching us to see how well we do our job, and our analysis must therefore be sound, even-handed and objective."