Elections Monitoring, Human Rights & Political Dialogue;
Democracy and the right of citizens to choose their representatives are fundamental values that should be promoted and defended, and ones that FAD Foundation seeks to promote abroad as well. One way these values are promoted globally is through international election observation.
While people may think international election observation teams are a boon for new or emerging democracies, these efforts can benefit well-established democracies, such as ours, as well. Others do not see a role for anyone from other countries to play in observing, or commenting on, elections in Canada and the USA. And in some states, no one is permitted in the polling place who is not a citizen or registered voter.
Recognizing that democratic elections form the basis for any legitimate government, FAD Foundation observes & monitors elections throughout Africa’s 55 States. We also provide policy and technical assistance to improve the legislative and administrative framework for elections in African countries.
The FAD Foundation observes elections to assess the extent to which electoral processes respect fundamental freedoms and are characterized by equality, universality, political pluralism, confidence, transparency and accountability. The Office also supports authorities in their efforts to improve electoral processes and to follow up on recommendations by UN, EU and US election observation missions, by reviewing election-related legislation, providing technical expertise and supporting the activities of citizen observer groups. As the Working Group Chair on Africa Electoral Monitoring & reporting, we lead short-term observer missions based on the Elections Calendar of the various member states.
Some FAD Foundation field operations carry out elections-related activities, including training for election commission members, local media, police & security services, as well as voter education initiatives.
A number of FAD Foundation field operations work in the area of elections and focus on: