Election Monitoring

Tuesday, 25 October 2011

Questions (83)

Finian McGrath

Question:

98 Deputy Finian McGrath asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he will list persons in tabular form sent abroad since May 2010 to monitor elections and referendums; the process by which election observers are appointed to the observer panel; the number of male and female observers on the panel; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31134/11]

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Written answers

Minister of State at the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (Deputy Jan O’Sullivan)

The Government believes that international election monitoring missions have an important role to play in the promotion of human rights and democracy. Irish Aid in the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade maintains a roster of observers for election monitoring missions. There are currently some 300 people on the roster, 104 women and 196 men.

The main requirements for inclusion on the roster are overseas or domestic experience in the administration of elections, or significant overseas development expertise. Members should also be Irish citizens, be in good health and have an ability to adapt to difficult conditions. Knowledge of foreign languages is also an advantage. Candidates who fulfil the requirements are placed on the roster following an interview. The election observation programme is subject to continuous monitoring to ensure that it operates efficiently and effectively and provides the best possible value for money.

The Government aims to ensure that, when requested, Ireland is represented at an appropriate level in international observation missions for elections and constitutional referendums. Irish observers participate primarily on missions organised by the European Union and the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), but have also been involved in missions organised by the Council of Europe, the United Nations and the Carter Centre.

A list in tabular form of persons sent abroad between May 2010 and October 2011 to monitor elections and referendums is set out below.

Election observation missions, May 2010 to October 2010

Irish observers act on observation missions as core team members, long term observers (LTOs) and short term observers (STOs).

Election Observation Missions May-December 2010)

(52 observers on 12 missions)
COUNTRY	ORGANISATION	ROLE	FORENAME	SURNAME
May
Ethiopia	EU	LTO	Donal	Blake
Ethiopia	EU	STO	Terry	Duffy
Ethiopia	EU	LTO	Edward	Horgan
Ethiopia	EU	STO	Michael	McNamara
Ethiopia	EU	STO	Mary	O’Shea
Ethiopia	EU	LTO	Marion	Roche
Georgia	OSCE	STO	Colm	Burke
Georgia	OSCE	STO	Marian	Cadogan
Georgia	OSCE	STO	Geraldine	Cusack
Georgia	OSCE	STO	Seamus	Duffy
Georgia	OSCE	STO	Brian	Flynn
Georgia	OSCE	STO	Eimear	Friel
Georgia	OSCE	STO	Fergus	Gleeson
Georgia	OSCE	STO	Michael	Lanigan
Georgia	OSCE	LTO	Sean	O’Callaghan
June
Guinea	EU	STO	Mary	Boland
Guinea	EU	STO	Michael	Humphreys
Guinea	EU	STO	Aidan	O’Shea
July
Burundi	EU	STO	Peter	Ballagh
October
Bosnia	OSCE	STO	Killian	Forde
Bosnia	OSCE	STO	Niall	Gormley
Bosnia	OSCE	STO	Patrick	Houlihan
Bosnia	OSCE	STO	Paul	McGrath
Bosnia	OSCE	STO	Caoimhe	Ní Chonchuir
Bosnia	OSCE	STO	Chiara	Popplewell
Bosnia	OSCE	STO	Audrey	Ryan
Bosnia	OSCE	STO	Eamonn	Walsh
Bosnia	OSCE	STO	Carole	Ward
Côte d’Ivoire	EU	STO	Peter	Ballagh
Côte d’Ivoire	EU	STO	Patricia	Kearns
Côte d’Ivoire	EU	LTO	Traolach	Sweeney
Kyrgyzstan	OSCE	STO	Gerard	Buckley
Kyrgyzstan	OSCE	STO	Karen	McCormack
Tanzania	EU	STO	Wendy	Dorman-Smith
Tanzania	EU	STO	Terry	Duffy
November
Azerbaijan	OSCE	STO	John	Jefferies
Azerbaijan	OSCE	STO	Padraig	MacCoscair
Azerbaijan	OSCE	STO	Fidelma	MacHale
Azerbaijan	OSCE	STO	Mary	O’Connor
Moldova	OSCE	STO	Gabrielle	Brocklesby
Moldova	OSCE	STO	Terence	O’Brien
Moldova	OSCE	STO	Eric	Byrne
Moldova	OSCE	STO	Robin	Henry
December
Belarus	OSCE	STO	Larry	O’Loughlin
Belarus	OSCE	STO	Geraldine	Cusack
Belarus	OSCE	STO	Michael	Lanigan
Belarus	OSCE	STO	James	O’Shea
Belarus	OSCE	STO	Caoimhe	Ni Chonchuire
Belarus	OSCE	STO	Noel	Brennan
Belarus	OSCE	LTO	Eithne	MacDermott
Kosovo	EU SR	STO	Dermot	McGauran
Kosovo	EU SR	STO	Brian	Flynn

Election Observation Missions (01 January-October 2011)

(51 Observers on 14 Missions)
COUNTRY	ORGANISATION	ROLE	FORENAME	SURNAME
January
Niger	EU	LTO	Dorcha	Lee
Niger	EU	STO	Grattan	Lynch
Sudan	EU	LTO	Maeve	Murphy
Sudan	EU	STO	Michael	Kavanagh
February
Uganda	EU	LTO	Frank	Scott
Uganda	EU	STO	Helen	Keogh
Uganda	EU	STO	Michael	Kennedy
Chad	EU	LTO	Marion	Roche
Chad	EU	LTO	Traoloch	Sweeney
Chad	EU	STO	Michael	Humphreys
April
Nigeria	EU	LTO	Diarmuid	Peavoy
Nigeria	EU	LTO	Sandra	Conway
Nigeria	EU	STO	Adrienne	Boyle
Nigeria	EU	STO	Jimmy	Somers
Kazakhstan	OSCE	STO	Robin	Henry
Kazakhstan	OSCE	STO	Joy	Kanter
Kazakhstan	OSCE	STO	Philippe	Carr
Kazakhstan	OSCE	STO	Raymond	Murphy
Kazakhstan	OSCE	STO	Paul	O’Shea
May
Albania	OSCE	STO	Eric	Byrne
Albania	OSCE	STO	Abdi Hassan	Ibrahim
Albania	OSCE	STO	Maurice	O’Donnell
Albania	OSCE	STO	Simon	Deignan
June
FYROM	OSCE	STO	Maurice	Canavam
FYROM	OSCE	STO	Michael	Smith
FYROM	OSCE	STO	Paul	Lindsay
FYROM	OSCE	STO	Siobhan	Coyne
Peru	EU	LTO	Marion	Roche
Peru	EU	STO	Patrick	Maher
September
Zambia	EU	STO	James	Doody
October
Tunisia	EU	LTO	Sandra	Conway
Tunisia	EU	LTO	Traoloch	Sweeney
Tunisia	EU	LTO	Diarmuid	Peavoy
Tunisia	EU	STO	Mary	O’Shea
Tunisia	EU	STO	Philippe	Carr
Tunisia	EU	STO	Mary	Boland
Kyrgyzstan	OSCE	LTO	Eithne	MacDermott
Kyrgyzstan	OSCE	STO	Caroline	Brennan
Kyrgyzstan	OSCE	STO	Peter	McMahon
Kyrgyzstan	OSCE	STO	John	Lynch
Kyrgyzstan	OSCE	STO	Mary	Dowling
Kyrgyzstan	OSCE	STO	Tom	Kitt
Kyrgyzstan	OSCE	STO	Michael	Coyne
Kyrgyzstan	OSCE	STO	Patricia	Donnelly
Kyrgyzstan	OSCE	STO	Eric	Byrne
Kyrgyzstan	OSCE	STO	Mathew	Quinn
Kyrgyzstan	OSCE	STO	Robin	Henry
Kyrgyzstan	OSCE	STO	Fiona	Devlin
Nicaragua	EU	LTO	Donal	Blake
DRC	EU	LTO	Dorcha	Lee
DRC	EU	LTO	Marion	Roche