Overseas Work

AEA Involvement

Since shortly after the inception of the Association, the United Kingdom Government and its agencies have recognised the expertise of Members by inviting it to send Members abroad to give pre-election assessments and advice and training to newly emerging democracies and by acting as observers either directly for the United Kingdom Government or as members of international observer missions.

The first overseas election experience was in November 1989 when some fifty Members were appointed as supervisors in the United Nations Transition Assistance Group for the historic independence elections in Namibia. Association Members were part of a team of more than 8,000 personnel from more than 100 countries working from 200 locations throughout the length and breadth of Namibia.

The Association's Members have been involved in elections, or proposed elections, in numerous countries, especially in Africa, Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union and Asia. The Association has also been called upon to make presentations on the British electoral process and election management to many overseas election officials who have visited the United Kingdom. The Association represents all those involved with organising elections in the United Kingdom and many of its Members hold politically restricted posts within local government and, as such, can provide independent and neutral assessments of the various elections and electoral processes.

The Association has also provided help and assistance through other organisations such as the United Nations, the European Union, the Commonwealth, the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) and the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES).

In the picture on the left, a local man in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia proudly casts his vote in July 2006, observed by Dame Audrey Glover, Head of Mission for ODIHR. On the right, a major rally for the "Macedonia Together" coalition in the main stadium in Skopje.

Mission Opportunities

The Association has gone through something of a change in the last few years so far as observing elections overseas is concerned. The beneficial relationship which had been enjoyed with ERIS effectively ended about five years ago, when a representative with whom we had been working closely retired. Since then, we have still placed Members on missions but in smaller numbers.

2004 saw missions to Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia and three to Ukraine. In addition, Members were appointed to assist in Sierra Leone, the Solomon Islands and St. Kitts and we even provided one member with an observation mission to the USA. That was a tough vacancy to fill!

There was only one opportunity for a mission in 2005 to Moldova although we provided eight Members to observe the Iraq out of country voting in December in Birmingham, London and Manchester. We also provided facilities for a party from Albania and also trained them in the techniques of centralised counting in June 2005 in Albania.

In 2006, short and long term observers were being sought for Bolivia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Haiti and Mexico. The biggest drawback for these was that the mission language was French or Spanish which put many Members to the test. Another mission to Ukraine in March saw five Members waving the AEA flag.

During 2007, observers were being sought for elections in Serbia, Albania and Kenya.

2008 saw quite a number of opportunities for observers, there being elections in Montenegro, Georgia, Macedonia, Cambodia, Rwanda, Azerbaijan, Belarus, and Bangladesh.

The picture on the left was taken in Serbia & Montenegro on a vote for independence for Montenegro in May 2006: the AEA's International Officer at the time, David Godfrey, is shown political neutrality by the polling station Chairman and staff in Andrijevica. On the right, the elderly are particularly keen to wait for the opening of polling in Gori, Georgia, in March 2004.