As part of the on-going development of EU EOM methodology, EODS seeks exchanges of experience with other international and regional organisations and regional networks involved in election observation.
EU EOMs have consistently been at the vanguard of methodological developments in election observation, including the development of training tools, media monitoring, observation of different phases of the electoral process, techniques for observing new developments in voter registration, tabulation of results and electronic voting technologies to name a few areas.
Election Observation is becoming increasingly systematised and global. The Declaration of Principles for International Observation, developed in 2005, was the first step in recognising that the majority of international or regional organisations involved in observing elections had common aims and sought a common approach based on credible methodologies. The signatories of the Declaration of Principles meet annually to ensure that this common approach is maintained and to discuss new challenges to election observation and share of new methodologies and tools. The last meeting was held in Manila on 12 to 14 November 2014. The 10th anniversary meeting will be held at the United Nations Headquarters, where the Declaration was first signed, in October this year.
Similarly, the Declaration of Global Principles for Non-Partisan Election Observation and Monitoring by Citizen Organisations was signed by over 150 citizen observer groups in April 2012, committing themselves to objective reporting on electoral issues. Four long-established citizen observer organisations from different regions are involved in the EODS project, each representing a different regional network.
