Agora Election Observation invites young people (between 18 and 35 years old) from all over Europe to sign up as Observers for our upcoming Election Observation Mission to the Slovak Parliamentary Election on 30 September 2023.
The mission runs from 26 September to 2 October and will be deployed in Bratislava and some other locations around the country. Its purpose is to specifically assess the participation of youth in the electoral process.
As an Observer at the Agora Election Observation Mission to Slovakia, successful applicants will receive training, complete specific research assignments, and then follow the voting, counting and tabulation procedures in various locations throughout the country on the day of elections. They will further meet with local, national and international political stakeholders, civil society organisations and youth representatives in Slovakia during the days prior to election day.
The observation of elections by independent observers contributes to the transparency of the process and is a valuable instrument of democratic control. The findings of the mission will be compiled into a report to be published after deployment and distributed amongst relevant authorities. Agora Election Observation is a non-government non-profit organisation aiming to train young people as international election observers and report on youth participation in elections in Europe, and has conducted numerous Election Observation Missions in the past years.
MISSION PROGRAMME & TIMELINE
Prior to arrival in Slovakia (on 26 September), Observers will be required to:
- take an election observation training (online) on the principles and methods of international election observation;
- conduct background research on a specific topic related to the participation, involvement and engagement of youth in the upcoming elections in Slovakia.
In Bratislava, between 27 and 28 September, Observers will:
- take part in a briefing on the political situation of the country;
- attend various meetings with local officials, political stakeholders, experts, scholars and civil society representatives as well as, in particular, with youth organisations and youth activists in the country.
On 29 September, Observers will:
- be deployed in different locations in Slovakia.
On 30 September (election day), Observers will:
- visit a number of polling stations to observe the opening, voting and closing processes throughout the day, as well as the counting and tabulation processes later that evening.
On 1 October, the day following election day, Observers will:
- return to Bratislava;
- attend a general debriefing;
- discuss and summarise the findings of observations conducted with other Observers and the Coordinators.
REQUIREMENTS
To become an Observer for the international Agora Election Observation Mission, an applicant must:
- be between 18 and 35 years old;
- have a solid command of English;
- hold citizenship of or legally reside in a Council of Europe member state. The only exception are individuals holding a Slovak citizenship: please note that Slovak nationals are not eligible to apply as international election observers for this mission. However, they can apply to support the mission as Local Coordinators or Interpreters;
- be available from the beginning of September onwards to participate in an online training course on election observation and to conduct background research on the political situation of Slovakia as concerns youth;
- be fully available to travel to Slovakia (latest travel day to Bratislava is 26 September and earliest travel day out of Bratislava is 2 October) and attend the entire deployment from 27 September to 1 October 2023;
- be able to cover their own costs, including travel and accommodation*.
Experience from participating in election monitoring in the applicant’s home country, in a political party or in non-governmental organisations is desirable, but not required. Other skills, education or experience related to Slovakia, democracy systems or election observation are considered an asset.
APPLICATION PROCEDURE
Please fill in this application form. The application deadline is Sunday, 10 September at 23:59 CET.
In case of questions, please contact Tom Breese, Mission Manager at t.breese@agoraelectionobservation.org.
Agora Election Observation looks forward to your application.
* In general, our Missions are organised on a 100% voluntary basis and do not involve any remuneration or reimbursement of travel and accommodation expenses. Participants are responsible themselves to have adequate health insurance coverage during the EOM. This applies to Coordinators as well as members of the Agora Election Observation team.