Tuesday 17 July 2018

2018 International Election Observation Program and Seoul International Forum on Elections


On June 13, 2018 the NEC held the 7th nationwide simultaneous local elections, with thousands of regional and local positions being put up for a vote. Here in the Administration and International Affairs Division we were not involved directly with the management of the election, but we were focused on using these elections as a focal point to increase exchange and cooperation with other election management bodies and our partner international organizations.

During the election period the NEC hosted two main international events. The first was the International Election Observation Program, with the NEC inviting over 50 participants from 23 election management bodies and international organizations from around the world.  Alongside their observation program, the participants also took part in the second of our main international events, the 2018 Seoul International Forum on Elections, during which over 100 election officials, experts and academics debated three of the key issues in election management.

Lets’ look at the two events in more detail!

2018 International Election Observation Program

The NEC’s International Election Observation Program focuses on exchanging election knowledge and experience between the NEC and participants, and among the participants themselves. The NEC provided support to invite participants from partner EMBs to encourage the development of election management practices and also international organizations involved in election management and democracy.  The program is all about learning, strengthening capacity and continuing to build a worldwide family of election management experts.  

Lasting from June 7 to June 14, the program allowed the participants to observe and experience the main parts of the elections system here in Korea. On the opening day, there was an introduction to the Korean election system from one of our professors at the Korean Civic Education Institute for Democracy (KOCEI) and a mock early voting and counting experience. The NEC setup mock polling and counting stations in the hotel, making it easier for participants to ask questions and gain a better understanding of the voting and counting systems as well as the equipment used during elections. This was backed up by observing elections the following day to see the process in action.

Throughout the week, there was also an opportunity to visit to the main institutions involved in Korean elections and democracy including the NEC, KOCEI, and the National Assembly. The main day of the program was of course election day itself on June 13, and the participants were split into groups of 10 at most. This meant everyone could fit into polling and counting stations and cause no disturbance to voters and election management staff, and all participants were able to go to four different polling stations during the day to give a well-rounded view of events during the day. For the brave souls that work up at 5am and get to the polling stations by 5:50am, they were also able to view the preparation and opening of polling stations. Despite busy polling stations and a relatively high turnout for local elections of 60.2%, it was possible for everyone to have space to take in each part of the voting process.

We ended the program with an excellent exchange of experiences and views on June 14 morning, with each team presenting on what they found over the program and giving feedback on their personal experiences. This helped everyone to have an overall view on the week and it was helpful for the NEC to get some feedback from other election management experts from around the world.

The full schedule for the week looked like this:



June 7
(Thu)
June 8
(Fri)
June 9 (Sat)
June 10 (Sun)
June 11 (Mon)
June 12 (Tue)
June 13 (Wed)
June 14 (Thu)
Morning
Participants Arrived and Registered
Opening ceremony and Introduction to the Korean Election System
Observed Early Voting Polling Stations
Rest Day
Participated in the Seoul International Forum on Elections
Cultural Activities
Observed the opening of polling stations
Closing briefing
After
noon
Mock Early Voting
Visited the NEC and KOCEI Main Offices
Visited National Assembly
Observed polling stations during voting and counting stations in the evening
Participants departed


2018 Seoul International Forum on Elections

The Seoul International Forum on Elections has become a growing event on the international calendar of international election management bodies. This year it was held at the Le Meridien Hotel Seoul on June 11, 4 days into our observation program. This forum was become a place for established experts in the field to come together to discuss these issues, share ideas and debate how to make elections around the world cleaner, fairer and more inclusive. This year was the largest forum to date and included a very exciting cultural show at the end of the evening for all the guests.

We would like to thank the nine presenters that spoke at the forum from election management bodies and international organizations from around the world. There was an excellent diversity of speakers who represented different views on each topic, and the audience engaged with a number of interesting questions and points throughout the day.  In particular, there were a lot of questions for Facebook’s representative Katie Harbath on the hot-button issue of so-called ‘fake news’ and we hope that everyone was able to pick up something new during the day.

The audience was made up of participants in our observation program and election officials and academics based in Korea. We were delighted the hall was packed out and that so many people were able to ask questions and put their views forward.

The full schedule was as follows:


Time
Schedule
Speakers
09:30 – 10:00
Opening Ceremony
Opening Remarks:
Kwon Soon-il (NEC Chairperson)
Congratulatory Remarks:
Michael Reiterer  (Ambassador-designate and Head of the Delegation of the European Union to the Republic of Korea)
Edwin C. Sagurton, Jr. (Charge D’Affairs from the US Embassy Seoul)
10:00 – 12:00
Measures to Expand Participation in Elections by Socially Marginalized Groups 
Moderator:
Kim Dong-beom (Secretary General, Korea Differently Abled Federation)
Presenters:
1. Christopher Wyrod (Deputy Country Director of Indonesia, Asia Foundation)
2. Jeffrey Karp (Professor at Brunel University and Senior Research Fellow,  Electoral Integrity Project)
3. Laura Villalba (Election Consultant, including for the U.S. Federal Election Commission)
12:00 – 13:30
Lunch

13:30 – 15:30
Fake News: The Effects on Elections and Measures to Prevent It
Moderator:
Jeong Se-hoon (Professor, Korea University School of Media and Communication) 
Presenters:
1. Hwang Yongsuk (Director of the Digital Communication Research Center and Professor, Konkuk University Department of Media and Communication)
2. Katie Harbath (Global Politics and Government Outreach Director, Facebook)
3. Om Prakash Rawat (Chief Election Commissioner of India)
15:30 – 16:00
Break

16:00 – 18:00
Ways to Promote Cooperation Between Election-related Organizations from Around the World
Moderator:
 Lee Jong-hee (Professor, Korean Civic Education Institute for Democracy)
Presenters:
1. Al A. Parreno (Chairperson of the Philippines Commission on Elections and the Association of Asian Election Authorities) 
2. Laura Matjošaitytė (Chairperson of the Central Election Commission of Lithuania and President of the Association of European Election Officials)
3. Melene Glynn (Specialist in the Department of Electoral Cooperation and Observation, Organization of American States)
4. Youn Dae-rak (Director of the Administration and International Affairs Division, National Election Commission of the Republic of Korea)
18:20 Onwards
Welcome Dinner and Cultural Event













































Thank you to everyone that participated in all the events, we look forward to continued partnership with our colleagues involved in elections from around the world!

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