The Annual Report of the Association of Central and Eastern European Election Officials for 2000
In 2000 the Association of Central and Eastern European Election Officials (ACEEEO) -according to its 3 year strategic plan - enhanced its international presence, increased the number of its members, and also started to set up a permanent secretariat, which is essential for the successful and efficient work of the Association. Here we list the groups of main fields of activities:
II. International Relations
III. Professional Work
IV. Increasing the capacities of the Secretariat
I. Missions
Supervisor Missions:
In 2000 we recruited polling supervisors for three elections, had been organized by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and United Nations (UN).
120 Hungarian polling supervisors were sent through our organization for the Municipal Elections in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) held in April. 60 of them could participate in that work with the support of the Embassy of the United States in Budapest, just like in November, when also 60 people worked in the sixth election mission to the General Elections in BiH. In October we delegated 62 persons for the Municipal Elections in Kosovo.
Among the three missions – considering their importance, complexity, and political influence - the Kosovo Elections proved to be the far most outstanding one, which was organized for the first time and therefore the most prepared supervisor team of ACEEEO was delegated to.
This was the first occasion that we sent a larger team for long-term supervision: 5 persons worked with the Settlement Election Committees in BiH, 12 persons worked on further tasks, such as election results auditor, election services supervisor, general services supervisor.
Summary: 259 persons participated in 4 missions as election supervisors in 2000, organized by the ACEEEO. Also, a part of travel expenses were covered by the ACEEEO.
Observer Missions:
In January during the Parliamentarian Elections in Croatia, just like in March, the Presidential Elections in Russia the Association was represented by one international observer.
3 observers were sent to the Ukrainian so called seven-question referendum from Szabolcs-Szatmár–Bereg County, Hungary.
The ACEEEO, as the only NGO, could play a role in a consortium that was organized by the Council of Europe, and was set up for the Kosovo Elections observation. The ACEEEO sent three observers (two Hungarians, and one Ukrainian) for that mission.
Two of our representatives were invited by the International Foundation for Election Systems (IFES) as observers for the Presidential Elections of the United States.
We sent altogether 7 observers from Csongrád and Békés County (Hungary) for the first round of the Romanian Parliamentarian and Presidential Elections.
Three representatives of us participated in the Serbian Elections in December as OSCE observers.
In 2000 we sent altogether 20 international observers to 7 missions. A considerable part of the mission expenses were covered by the ACEEEO.
For more information visit our website. (www.aceeeo.com)
II. International Relations
We went further on deepening our relations with the OSCE department responsible for elections. Our representatives visited twice the Conflict Prevention Center in Vienna, where they could meet Ambassador Márton Krasznai, director and Ambassador Daan Everts, head of the Mission in Kosovo. The aim of these meetings was to promote the relations on the one hand and on the other hand, to discuss the possibility of our participation in the international observer missions in Kosovo (the former plan had been that OSCE could observe the action, but later that task was delegated to the Council of Europe).
International observations of elections are usually organized by OSCE-ODIHR in this region. We had face-to-face competent conversations twice regarding cooperation on this field and also to clarify our role in the observation of the Kosovo Elections. We handed in our particular, written suggestions with a reference to our commitment of logistic preparation and arrangement of the international observations of Kosovo Elections. The recommendation was completed in cooperation with experts of IFES, and was discussed in Warsaw, in the presence of a representative of IFES.
· Kiev Conference of the Ukrainian Central Election Committee
In March 2000, the Ukrainian Central Election Committee (UCEC) held its annual conference. The president of UCEC, Mr. Ryabec announced that recently an increasing number of election experts participated in that conference, as the purpose was to improve the expertise of municipal and provincial civil servants. The secretary-general of ACEEEO Mr. Zoltán Tóth reviewed the typical types of election frauds in his lecture, based on international experiences, and also called the attention for guaranties of prevention or follow up detection of irregularities during the elections. The Ukrainian media paid a keen interest in the conference.
· Kosovo IDEA Seminar, Stockholm, 5-7 September
The aim of the seminar, which was organized by the International IDEA in Stockholm, was the professional arrangement of Kosovo Elections. The participants –a delegate of ACEEEO was also present– were provided by a general information about the situation in Kosovo, which proved to be very useful before the first Election Mission to Kosovo. An important conclusion was drawn that forming an election system and arranging the elections is only the first step on the road leading to democracy. In long turn a gradual involvement of local authorities in the election process is a must.
· Teslic, AEOBIH Annual Conference, December 7-10, 2000
Two experts represented our Association in the annual conference of the ACEEEO member organization in BiH. The main purpose of the conference was to train local election officers for taking the election administrative tasks over from experts of international community.
It was the Council of Europe that got assignment last June to arrange the international observer mission in Kosovo. The first conciliatory meeting of international organizations being involved in this action forming a consortium was held in July, in Strasbourg. The ACEEEO was the only NGO that was invited for that meeting. Mr. László Katona, head of ACEEEO Secretariat, set a contact with the leader of the observer mission in Kosovo and other competent persons of the Council of Europe, as well.
The next conciliatory meeting took place at the beginning of September, where 2 of our representatives were present. Control limits of short-term observers were set up and also terms of the mission were determined. The ACEEEO was willing to contribute to the mission with 3 of its observers (see above Observer Missions).
During that visit our representatives had conversations with competent officials of the Parliamentarian General Assembly of the Council of Europe, they also met the Political Chief Director of the Council of Europe, who initiated that the Association should tender for consultative NGO status. The official tender was sent to Strasbourg in October and a positive decision will be hopefully received in the year 2001.
Initiating contact with Election Department of the UN
Hungarian election experts, representing the ACEEEO, participated in an election-technique experience exchange both at IFES (based in Washington) and the Election Committee of New York, December 1-6, 2000. At the same time the representatives of ACEEEO continued conversations with the Election Department of the UN in order to obtain information concerning UN experiences in elections, and on how the Association could take part in the activities of the world organization.
A professional meeting was held in Chicago with the participation of Mr. Zoltán Tóth, secretary-general of the ACEEEO, Mr. Richard W. Soudriette, president of IFES and Mr. Alexander Veshnyakov, president of the Election Committee of the Russian Federation in November 6, 2000. The parties agreed in reviewing the experiences of the 10-year work and the future tasks of the Association in Zagreb on the October 2001 ACEEEO conference. They also intend to invite the secretary-general of UN to the jubilee conference to offer him a perspective of the development of the Central and Eastern European region in the past 10 years, with the main respect of building democracy, in particular elections, and the elections arranged on the Balkans, respectively.
Annual Conference
A meeting of the Executive Committee was held in Warsaw March 7-9, 2000, in order to prepare for the next annual conference and to discuss other current tasks.
In 2000 our Organization held its annual conference in Warsaw, in the presence of 26 country representatives, with 180 participants, and 15 exhibitors. During the conference an election history exhibition was displayed, which met with a great success. The main topic of the conference was the interconnection of information technology and elections. Participants adopted a recommendation concerning the directions of information technology development with regard to the discussed experiences. Main events of the conference were: Macedonia and Turkey were admitted as institutional members, modification of the charter was accepted, the idea of establishing a South-European subgroup within the framework of ACEEEO came to life, the number of the Executive Committee members increased to 7 and got a mandate till 2003, and parties agreed on that the succeeding annual conference will be held in Zagreb. The Essex project gained assurance by member countries of their support (see also in Professional Work chapter).
Preparations for the 2001 annual conference started on 15th of November. Arranging parties agreed on working out a Memorandum of Understanding and also a project team was formed that would be responsible for the arrangement of the annual conference.
· Mr. Zsolt Szolnoki worked 7 months in Kosovo as a delegate and representative of the Association, being a member of OSCE mission working on preparation of the elections in Kosovo.
· On the basis of an agreement with the Central Registration, Data Processing and Election Office of the Ministry of Interior, Hungary the ACEEEO has prepared a program with the intention of collecting international experience relating to campaign financing. Our experts have analyzed codification and legal practice of several countries in detail. The study being based on that research soon arrives to the completion phase. Its importance lies in that it will function as a base for submitting a proposal for modernization of the present Hungarian regulation. This document will also serve as a core for a debate on the agenda of campaign financing of the Zagreb conference, in autumn 2001.
· Our organization has participated in the translation of ODIHR observer book, which will be soon available, also in a digital form, through the website of the Association.
· The renewal of the website of the Association has been started, as it was necessary because of the increased traffic and public demands. The renewed website will be available by the spring 2000.
· The first version of ACEEEO’s CD-ROM has been prepared including the professional exhibition having been previously displayed by the Association in the Warsaw conference (see above). The extended version will be demonstrated on the 2001 annual conference of the Association.
· Our Association is, in cooperation with IFES, undertaking steps for a training program for election experts of BiH. Attendants will accomplish the final module in Győr, Hungary.
· About the Essex project: it is an initiative to construct an election database of the Central and Eastern European region. Due to the vivid and rapidly altering practice of the elections in the region, the creation of an election database became essential, which includes election laws, results of elections. It also can function as a fundamental source to provide experts, politicians, and freemen with information being interested or participating in promoting of the democratic development of the region. That was the main reason for creating a common database the Partner, with participation of IFES, the University of Essex, and ACEEEO. (See on the Web: http://www.essex.ac.uk/elections.)
· Organized by the Embassy of the United States in Budapest, the Secretariat of ACEEEO could participate in a lecture of Mr. Edmund Beard, US political scientist, on actual questions of the election system of the United States. The lecture gave a great contribution to the preparation process of ACEEEO observers for the US Presidential Elections.
IV. Increasing the capacities of the Secretariat
In the year 2000 one, in the year 2001 two full-time employees strengthen the work of ACEEEO Secretariat. In the year 2000 Mr. Máté Radics joined the Secretariat. He had previously participated in a three-week professional course (tender writing, identification of potential supporters, etc…) in the IFES Center, Washington DC. In the future the Secretariat of the Association will continue its work in a new permanent office, its address is Alkotmány street 25, Budapest 1054, Hungary, tel.: (36-1) 354-02-65, fax: (36-1) 354-02-64, e-mail address: aceeeo@matavnet.hu.