Democracy Around the Globe: International Election Standards
By: Dominick Cortez
I. Background
There is no set document that binds nations to certain practices and procedures when conducting elections. However, there are international standards that can be gleaned from various conventions that set forth how an ideal election would occur. These standards are generalized, and it is left up to each individual nation to allow itself to be measured by these standards. Various nations have joined onto the documents that espouse these standards. Joining these documents means that these countries have agreed to be measured with these standards as a benchmark. One such organization that ensures elections follow these standards is the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). This blog post will examine the standards set forth by the United Nations and how Europe has safeguarded these standards through the OSCE.
II. Analysis
Although this will not be a comprehensive list of all the standards that a nation should follow when conducting an election, some of the most important documents are as follows:
Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948); International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) (1996); General Comment 25 on ICCPR Article 25: The right to participate in public affairs, voting rights and the right to equal access to public service (1996); Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (1965); Convention to End All Discrimination Against Women (1979); Convention on the Political Rights of Women (1979); UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women, General Recommendation 23 on Political and Public Life (1997); Convention Against Corruption (2003); Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (2006); and Declaration on the Right and Responsibility of Individuals, Groups, and Organs of Society to Promote and Protect Universally Recognized Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (1999).[1]
Each of these documents lays out at least a portion of the crucial standards that every member of the United Nations should strive to meet when conducting domestic elections.
The right to vote itself is set out in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which provides in relevant part: “The will of the people shall be the basis of the authority of government; this will shall be expressed in periodic and genuine elections which shall be by universal and equal suffrage and shall be held by secret vote or by equivalent free voting procedures.”[2] This only provides the general right to vote but it does not provide the specifics like when elections should occur, what interval, or any of the like. That is left up to the member nations to decide.
Building off the idea of equal and universal suffrage advocated above, the United Nations went on to further enshrine this idea in their International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Article 2 states that all persons “without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status” shall enjoy the rights listed below.[3] Article 25 then restates the right to vote, adds the right to be elected along with the right to public service, and makes sure to mention that none of the distinctions listed in Article 2 should deprive a person of those rights.[4]
Other documents listed above further reiterate and make clear that the right to vote and be elected are protected rights. These documents add other rights to the list such as freedom of assembly, information, movement, and the like.[5] They also protect the rights of marginalized groups such as people with disabilities.[6] But, how would a member nation go about instituting these idyllic standards?
III. Conclusion
Europe went about instituting these standards and making sure that they were followed by creating the aforementioned Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). This institution was created by the Helsinki Final Act in 1975.[7] This organization deals with many issues throughout Europe, but the elections portion is central to their operation.[8] The elections portion of operations is covered by their Office of Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR). According to their website:
Recognizing that democratic elections form the basis for legitimate government, the OSCE observes elections throughout its 57 participating States. It also provides technical assistance to improve the legislative and administrative framework for elections in specific countries. Some OSCE field operations carry out elections-related activities, including training for election commission members, media and police as well as voter education initiatives. They do not, however, take part in election observation missions in their countries of operation. The OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights observes elections, reviews legislation and advises governments on how to develop and sustain democratic institutions. The OSCE Parliamentary Assembly leads election observation missions.[9]
Basically, the ODHIR will help member states set up elections, reform their election codes, train election officials, and observe elections.[10] Emphasis is put on the fact that universal and equal suffrage be possible in all elections.[11] The OSCE also releases reports about elections and will investigate elections at the behest of member nations, including the United States.[12]
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[1] Applying International Election Standards: A Field Guide for Election Monitoring Groups, National Democratic Institute (July 12, 2013), https://www.ndi.org/sites/default/files/Applying-International-Standards-ENG.pdf.
[2] G.A. Res. 217 (III) A, art. 21 § 3, Universal Declaration of Human Rights (Dec. 10, 1948).
[3] G.A. Res. 2200 (XXI) A, art. 2, International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (Dec. 16, 1966).
[4] Id. at art. 25.
[5] See generally, General Comment No. 25: The right to participate in public affairs, voting rights and the right of equal access to public service, CCPR/C/21/Rev.1/Add.7 (Dec. 7, 1996).
[6] See generally, Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, art. 29, opened for signature Mar. 30, 2007, 2515 U.N.T.S. 3.
[7] Who We Are, OSCE, https://www.osce.org/whatistheosce (last visited Jan. 26, 2021).
[8] Id.
[9] Id.
[10] What We Do: Elections, OSCE, https://www.osce.org/elections (last visited Jan. 26, 2021).
[11] See id.
[12] See generally, General Elections, 3 November, 2020, OSCE, https://www.osce.org/odihr/elections/usa/456787 (last visited Jan. 26, 2020).