After elections

What happens after Election Day?
After Election Day, the EP delegation take part in a debriefing with the Chief Observer or ODIHR Head of Mission. Afterwards, the Head of the Delegation partakes in a press conference alongside the Chief Observer or the ODIHR Head of Mission, where a general overview of the Election Day and initial findings are reported to the press, followed by a question-and-answer session.
When the delegation arrives back in Brussels, the findings of the mission are reported to a number of bodies, such as the Foreign Affairs (AFET) or Development (DEVE) committee, depending on the country; the Democracy Support and Election Coordination Group (DEG) if appropriate; parliamentary standing committees; or an EP plenary session if the country's situation is politically very sensitive.
Keeping the momentum
In recent years, the European Parliament, like the EU in general, has recognised the importance of better following up on the recommendations of election observation missions.
A number of positive developments have occurred in this regard. The European External Action Service (EEAS) has deployed follow-up missions, led by the Chief Observer of the original election observation mission, and the European Commission has funded projects to follow up on elections.
Parliament's post-election efforts
In-line with the EU efforts, the European Parliament has strengthened the parliamentary aspects of its own follow-up.
Parliament's "post-election" activities are led by the MEP who acted as Chief Observer in the partner country.
When elections were observed by the European Parliament, post-election cooperation is foreseen for some recommendations from the election observation mission through "parliamentary electoral dialogues". You can read more about them here.
As many recommendations require legislative changes, local parliaments play an important role in the post-election period.
In other countries, the European Parliament focuses on specific areas that the newly elected parliaments will need to address.
Parliamentary Electoral Dialogues
The Democracy Support and Election Coordination Group (DEG) decided to develop specific pre-election and post-election/follow-up activities, in order to complement the Parliament's longstanding election observation work.
The main instrument for such activities are the Parliamentary Electoral Dialogues (PEDs), during which a limited number of MEPs discuss in depth election-related issues with relevant parliamentarians, political leaders and other actors from the partner country. These issues include the implementation of the European Parliament recommendations following past elections in the country, which the MEPs observed.
During the pandemic, in order to compensate for Parliament's absence on the ground, the DEG decided to hold virtual PEDs on a country-by-country basis. MEPs interested in the country and relevant interlocutors (e.g. the EU Ambassador and election experts based in the country in question) participated in the virtual PEDs.
So far, around 30 virtual PEDs have taken place and proved to be a successful and informative instrument with a very good and active participation. They will continue to be organised in a more targeted manner to complement the in-person election observation delegations and PEDs.
Examples
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The Gambia
Gambia's National Assembly Two visits of newly elected MPs and civil servants from the Gambia's National Assembly were organised in early 2018 in Brussels.
These visits followed significant democratic developments in the country: presidential elections in December 2016, followed by the April 2017 parliamentary elections, which were observed by the European Parliament.
During their 2018 study visits, Gambian participants held lively discussions with MEPs, including- Miroslav Poche, Chief Observer to the Gambia,
- Jean Lambert, Head of the European Parliament's election observation delegation, and
- Linda McAvan, Chair of the European Parliament's Committee on Development.
Exchanging best practices on a comprehensive set of topics, participants touched on:- the role of a parliament,
- the function of parliamentary committees,
- the budget process,
- relations with civil society and the electorate,
- human rights,
- gender equality and empowering women in parliaments,
- dialogue,
- building coalitions and consensus.
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Jordan
MEP Jo Leinen, Chief EU Observer in Jordan © European Union The European Parliament observed elections in Jordan in 2016. These were viewed as part of the country's ongoing efforts to establish an effective multi-party democracy, which Parliament strongly supports.
Jordan has reformed its electoral system by adopting a new electoral law, and the EU has launched a new comprehensive democratic governance programme to support further reforms.
The country's reforms include measures to strengthen its House of Representatives. To solidify these changes, the European Parliament has shared its technical expertise on electronic voting in plenary sessions, and has organised seminars for Jordanian parliamentary staff, as was recommended by the EU observation mission.
The most recent seminar, held in December 2017, provided participants insights on issues including- controlling the budget,
- parliamentary question mechanisms,
- the role of political groups,
- institutional communication and
- legislative drafting.
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Sri Lanka
EU election observers in Sri Lanka's North Central Province meeting with internally displaced persons (IDPs) © European Union, 2015 Following the general elections in Sri Lanka in August 2015 and the follow-up mission by Chief Observer Cristian Preda (EPP, Romania), a study visit to Brussels for Sri Lankan MPs was organised in April 2017.
The visit focused on the committee system in the European Parliament and how this system plays a vital role in empowering parliaments.
Particular emphasis was placed on budgets, and on budgetary control committees and their financial oversight role.
The programme of the visit was developed in close cooperation with Sri Lanka's parliament.
During one of several meetings, visitors held discussions with MEPs Preda and Ignacio Corrao (EFDD, Italy), who headed the European Parliament observation delegation to Sri Lanka in 2015.