The European External Action Service and the European Parliament will co-host a major international conference on “The Future of Electoral Observation”, which will take place on 10-11 October in the European Parliament. The conference will be opened by the President of the European Parliament Antonio Tajani and addressed by High Representative/Vice-President Federica Mogherini, as well as a number of high-level speakers including Commissioner for Digital Economy and Society, Mariya Gabriel.
“Since the end of the Cold War, electoral observation has become an integral part of European foreign policy, as one of most effective and transparent instruments for promoting core values and strengthening democracy around the world,” said Antonio Tajani.
“Electoral Observation is a crucial part of our engagement in the field of democracy and Human Rights and a key instrument in our engagement with our partners. This conference will be an occasion for us to reflect on today’s challenges and opportunities, together with institutional actors and partners from the civil society that contribute to the success of the missions,” added High Representative/Vice-President Federica Mogherini.
The conference will bring together election observers, electoral stakeholders, donors, civil society and the conflict prevention community to take stock of the new challenges that we are collectively facing: the increasing use of social media and big data for electoral campaigning, the growing use of ICT for voting, and for transmitting and counting results and the issues surrounding electoral violence. It will also provide an opportunity for the European Parliament to strengthen its relations with the OSCE and NATO Parliamentary Assemblies on electoral observation and for the EU to look at strengthening trilateral co-operation with the UN and African Union in this area.
The entire conference, including opening remarks by President Tajani on 10 October at 15:00 and closing remarks by High Representative/Vice President Mogherini on 11 October at 13:00, can be followed live through the European Broadcasting Service.
