Toward Greater Synergy Between International and Domestic Election Observation

Oge Onubogu, Director at the Wilson Center Africa Program welcomed participants and introduced the event, the SVNP project, and the scholarship program. Tobias Glucksman, U.S. Department of State Senior Diplomatic Fellow, framed the discussion, introduced the speaker, and moderated the event. The event featured Ms. Kgalaleo Nganje, a current Southern Voices Network for Peacebuilding Scholar at the Wilson Center and electoral practitioner in Botswana.

Ms. Kgalaleo Nganje shared her research on increasing citizen distrust in electoral processes across Africa, and the importance of bridging the gap between international election observation (IEO) and domestic election observation (DEO) efforts.  Nganje identified the reversal of democratic governance that has amplified citizen distrust in elections.  Simultaneously, Nganje pinpointed scholarship critiques on IEO, focusing on their short periods of deployment that ignore government manipulation of electoral processes and IEO missions' past endorsements of unworthy governments. Nganje highlighted the increased advocacy for localized civil society led DEO missions to lead election observations instead. By outlining the challenges that DEO faces, like security risks and limited resources capacity, Nganje’s policy recommendations included a stronger collaboration between DEO and IEO organization that would be cultivated through joint statements, civil society leadership in IEO missions, and a unified legal framework. Nganje concluded that these policy recommendations, coupled with stronger punitive measures exercised by African observer missions and incentivized funding from donor governments, will cultivate safe environments for DEO, strengthen the synergy between IEO and DEO missions, and build civilian confidence in national electoral processes. 

The Southern Voices Network for Peacebuilding (SVNP) is a continent-wide network of 22 African policy, research, and academic organizations that works with the Wilson Center’s Africa Program to bring African knowledge and perspectives to US, African, and international policy on peacebuilding in Africa. Established in 2011 and supported by the generous financial support of Carnegie Corporation of New York, the project provides avenues for African researchers and practitioners to engage with, inform, and exchange analyses and perspectives with US, African, and international policymakers in order to develop the most appropriate, cohesive, and inclusive policy frameworks and approaches to achieving sustainable peace in Africa.