Declaration of Principles for International Election Observation

From 2002-2005, The Carter Center participated in a collaborative project in partnership with the National Democratic Institute (NDI) and the United Nations Electoral Assistance Division (UNEAD) to build consensus and professionalism in the field of election observation. Through a series of consultations and conferences involving more than 20 intergovernmental and international nongovernmental organizations, the Declaration of Principles for International Election Observation and the Code of Conduct for International Election Observers were developed.

The Declaration was formally endorsed by representatives of 22 organizations at a ceremony hosted by the United Nations on Oct. 27, 2005, and led by U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, former U.S President Jimmy Carter, and NDI Chairperson and former U.S Secretary of State Madeleine Albright. Since then 15 additional organizations have endorsed the Declaration, and it remains open to future endorsement.

Organizations that have endorsed the Declaration and the accompanying Code of Conduct pledge their commitment to assuring integrity and transparency in election observations. They agree to use these documents as guiding principles for their work, looking to them to address key issues such as the purpose, scope, and conduct of missions and the importance of harmonizing assessment criteria among groups.

The Carter Center views the Declaration and the Code of Conduct not only as critically important documents providing guidelines for professional observation, but also as the foundation for the emergence of a community of practice among observation groups.

Through the Democratic Election Standards project, The Carter Center hopes to build on the important progress achieved in the Declaration and to promote greater harmonization, professionalism, and transparency in the electoral observation community.

Annual Meetings on the Implementation of the Declaration of Principles for International Election Observation

Since its commemoration at the United Nations in 2005, the Declaration of Principles for International Election Observation has served as a focal point for collaboration and cooperation amongst international election observation organizations.  International meetings on the implementation of the Declaration of Principles for International Election Observation are held each year to allow members of the observation community to gather and discuss critical challenges facing observation and how best to advance the field.  The 2011 meeting will be hosted by the European Commission in Brussels and will build on the outcomes of the previous meeting hosted at The Carter Center in October 2010.  Summary of proceedings from the five prior annual meeting are attached below.

1st Annual Declaration of Principles Meeting, 2006 (Hosted by Commonwealth in London, United Kingdom) (PDF)

2nd Annual Declaration of Principles Meeting, 2007 (Hosted by the Organization of American States in Washington, D.C.) (PDF)

3rd Annual Declaration of Principles Meeting, 2008
(Hosted by the Electoral Institute for Southern Africa in Maputo, Mozambique) (PDF)

4th Annual Declaration of Principles Meeting, 2009 (Hosted by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe) (PDF)

5th Annual Declaration of Principles Meeting, 2010 (Hosted by The Carter Center in Atlanta, Georgia) (PDF)