Africa weighs in on poll advice for Americans

WASHINGTON – The United States, accustomed to giving advice on democracy, is in the unfamiliar position of getting some from international election observers schooled in Tajikistan, Ethiopia and other emerging democracies.

Two observer groups have been examining US voting systems for compliance with international standards for free and fair elections. The very idea disgusts some Republicans, who say it sends a message of weakness and compromises US sovereignty.Some Democrats say the scrutiny is overdue.Former President Carter, for one, has said some US voting systems don’t meet international standards “even as many other nations are conducting elections that are internationally certified to be transparent, honest and fair.”The observers already have found problems typical in countries with far less than 200 years of voting experience.The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, a 55-state security group, said ballot secrecy is at risk because of the way some overseas ballots are being handled.The Bush administration invited the OSCE observers as part of a standing agreement among member states.David MacDonald, a Canadian member of a team organised by the San Francisco human rights group Global Exchange, said observers were shocked to find that partisan officials run US elections.Requiring election officers to be non-partisan “is as close as you can get in democratic or electoral terms to a universal norm”, MacDonald said after visiting Missouri, where Secretary of State Matt Blunt, a Republican, is the chief electoral officer and a candidate for governor.”There are some very serious problems that need to be addressed.”The two organisations’ teams represent the largest effort yet by foreign observers to watch a US election, though it’s small compared to the armies of lawyers and volunteers recruited by the political parties and civic groups to watch the polls on Election Day, November 2.A preliminary report issued on September 28 faulted procedures with absentee and provisional ballots, cited reports of voter intimidation and disenfranchisement, and criticised moves by a few states to allow overseas and military voters to fax rather than mail completed ballots.Whether US voting systems meet international standards has been the subject of intense debate since major weaknesses were exposed during the recount of presidential ballots in Florida in 2000.United Nations guidelines call for an “independent electoral authority”, and for systems that guarantee the will of the voters will be followed and counted equally.The OSCE specifies that vote-counting must be transparent and open to observation.The observers’ presence has drawn stinging criticism from some Republicans.”What do foreign observers bring to American elections?” Representative Jeff Miller, R-Florida, wrote to constituents.”We are not a country suppressed by tyranny and aggression; we are a free nation built upon a foundation of citizen democracy.”- Nampa-APThe very idea disgusts some Republicans, who say it sends a message of weakness and compromises US sovereignty.Some Democrats say the scrutiny is overdue.Former President Carter, for one, has said some US voting systems don’t meet international standards “even as many other nations are conducting elections that are internationally certified to be transparent, honest and fair.”The observers already have found problems typical in countries with far less than 200 years of voting experience.The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, a 55-state security group, said ballot secrecy is at risk because of the way some overseas ballots are being handled.The Bush administration invited the OSCE observers as part of a standing agreement among member states.David MacDonald, a Canadian member of a team organised by the San Francisco human rights group Global Exchange, said observers were shocked to find that partisan officials run US elections.Requiring election officers to be non-partisan “is as close as you can get in democratic or electoral terms to a universal norm”, MacDonald said after visiting Missouri, where Secretary of State Matt Blunt, a Republican, is the chief electoral officer and a candidate for governor.”There are some very serious problems that need to be addressed.”The two organisations’ teams represent the largest effort yet by foreign observers to watch a US election, though it’s small compared to the armies of lawyers and volunteers recruited by the political parties and civic groups to watch the polls on Election Day, November 2.A preliminary report issued on September 28 faulted procedures with absentee and provisional ballots, cited reports of voter intimidation and disenfranchisement, and criticised moves by a few states to allow overseas and military voters to fax rather than mail completed ballots.Whether US voting systems meet international standards has been the subject of intense debate since major weaknesses were exposed during the recount of presidential ballots in Florida in 2000.United Nations guidelines call for an “independent electoral authority”, and for systems that guarantee the will of the voters will be followed and counted equally.The OSCE specifies that vote-counting must be transparent and open to observation.The observers’ presence has drawn stinging criticism from some Republicans.”What do foreign observers bring to American elections?” Representative Jeff Miller, R-Florida, wrote to constituents.”We are not a country suppressed by tyranny and aggression; we are a free nation built upon a foundation of citizen democracy.”- Nampa-AP