WEBINAR! Election Observation from the Bottom Up
‘Election Observation from the Bottom Up’
International reputations, public opinion, and local perspectives
ELECTOR is the Election Observation Research Network, based in the Centre for Elections, Democracy, Accountability and Representation (CEDAR) at the University of Birmingham. ELECTOR aims to foster a constructive and mutually supportive relationship between civil society groups, election experts, and international and domestic observers, enabling those working at the coal face of election observation to shape the direction of new academic research.
Building on the success of the inaugural ELECTOR meeting in Brussels and online, we held another ELECTOR meeting on 9 November 2022 online.
The meeting included original research findings from the ‘Local Perceptions and Media Representations of Election Observation in Africa‘ project at the University of Edinburgh.
Meeting outline (all times are in GMT):
| Time (GMT) | Session title/description | Chair & discussant roles |
| 10:00-10:15 | Opening remarks and introducing ELECTOR | Nic Cheeseman (University of Birmingham), Tom Molony & Rob Macdonald (University of Edinburgh) |
| 10:15-10:30 | Participant introductions | Nic Cheeseman & Petra Alderman (University of Birmingham) |
| 10:30-12:00 | Session 1: ‘Local Perceptions and Media Representations of Election Observation in Africa: Some preliminary findings’. Speakers: Tom Molony & Rob Macdonald (University of Edinburgh) | Chair: Holly Ruthrauff (EODS) Discussant: Baïdessou Soukolgué (EISA) |
| 12:00-13:30 | Lunch break | |
| 13:30-15:00 | Session 2: Domestic and International Observers from a Local Perspective Speakers: Marr Nyang (Gambia Participates); Paul James (YIAGA); Sarah Bush (Yale University); Larry Garber (independent consultant and adjunct faculty) | Chair: Chris Day (FCDO) Discussant: Richard Klein (NDI) |
| 15:00-15:15 | Break | |
| 15:15-16:15 | Roundtable: Generating impact The aim of this session is to generate ideas on how research findings from the day’s presentations can inform day-to-day practice of election observers. | Chair: Tanja Hollstein (WFD) Discussant: Beata Martin-Rozumilowic (EU) |
| 16:15-16:30 | Closing remarks & what’s next for ELECTOR | Nic Cheeseman (University of Birmingham) |
Session 1: ‘Local Perceptions and Media Representations of Election Observation in Africa: Some preliminary findings’.
Session 2: Domestic and International Observers from a Local Perspective
Roundtable: Generating impact
For more information, please visit our About ELECTOR page. For election-related resources, please visit the Research Briefs page and the Resources page where you will be able to find a report of the first meeting and policy briefs on key issues of concern to the community.
ELECTOR is part of the Centre for Elections, Democracy, Accountability and Representation (CEDAR), a new research and policy centre established by the University of Birmingham, builds on the remarkable strengths of the University in a number of areas that are critical for our understanding of the challenges facing democracy and how to overcome them. This includes cutting-edge research on democratic theory and practice, a comparative research agenda on how political parties mobilize support and the consequences this has for politics and society, first class Area Studies communities, high level knowledge exchange partnerships with a number of governments and leading think tanks and civil society organizations around the world, and in-depth expertise on elections, electoral manipulation, and how to safeguard the polls. CEDAR is led by Nic Cheeseman, the Professor of Democracy, along with two Deputy Directors, Licia Cianetti and Tim Haughton, and is the home of the ELECTOR project.
ELECTOR 