For the parliamentary elections in Norway on Monday, 12 September, election observers from Central Asia, Caucasus and Moldova will be present to make sure all procedures meet international standards, so many times checked by Norwegian observers elsewhere. -We’re turning classical election observation on its head, says Berit Lindeman (right), of the Norwegian Helsinki Committee. (5-SEP-05)
Behind the initiative to have the forthcoming Norwegian elections monitored by international observers, stands both the Norwegian Helsini Committee and the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs. None of the initiators are aware of similar initiatives in the past.
-Upside down
-We have turned classical election observation on its head, says Berit Lindeman, election expert and adviser in the Norwegian Helsinki Committee. -On numerous occasions, Western observers have monitored elections in Caucasus and Central Asia. Now, our wish is to see how Norwegian elections are assessed, set up against OSCE’s standards, the most commonly applied among the organisation’s member countries. We believe it is useful, from time to time, to be considered from outside.
Six municipalities and the city of Bergen under scrutiny
After being carefully briefed about Norwegian society in general and the Norwegian election system in particular, the delegation of 25 observers will monitor both voting and counting procedures in six municipalities in the Eastern parts of Norway, and also in Bergen, the country’s second largest city, on the west coast. The observers are scheduled also to visit the Parliament, the City Hall of Oslo, one or more headquarters of the political parties. Finally, they will follow the election campaign in Norwegian media.
Experienced election observers, leading democracy campaigners
The delegation is made up of participants from Kyrgyzstan, Tadjikistan, Kasakhstan, Uzbekistan, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Armenia and Moldova. In their own countries, they work as lawyers, researchers, human rights defenders and university teachers. Most of them have extensive experience as election observers and are leading members of the democracy movements of their own countries.
Straight from high-profile lecturing assignments in the US
Edil Baisarov from Kyrgyzstan was among the absolute protagonists of the revolution in March this year. He comes to Norway from the US, where he has given a lecture in the American Congress on the political situation i Kyrgyzstan. Anna Dolidze leads the Young Lawyers’ Association in Georgia and recently gave he lecture ‘Promises Undelivered? Georgia after the Rose revolution’ at the Soros Foundation in New York. Lawyer and international election expert Tigran Karapetyan has been given the task of going through the Norwegian election law to check to what extent it meets international standards. The Uzbek is an experienced evaluator of election laws in other countries, often on request from the OSCE.
For more information, please contact Secretary General Bjørn Engesland, the Norwegian Helsinki Committee; + 47 22 47 92 09 or researcher Indra Øverland, Norwegian Institute f International Affairs; + 47 901 26 516.
