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UNITED NATIONS ELECTORAL
ASSISTANCE
Preconditions for Assistance |
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Before the United Nations can provide any type of electoral assistance, the Organization must first carefully assess the pre-election conditions in the requesting country. With this in mind, the procedure for obtaining electoral assistance is as follows: (i) the Government must send an official written request for assistance to the United Nations Focal Point for Electoral Assistance Activities (e.g. the Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs) at least 3 months before the scheduled election to allow for meaningful involvement. The usual sources of requests are the national electoral authorities, the Office of the President or the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; (ii) The Electoral Assistance Division will consult with the relevant regional division of the Department of Political Affairs and the UNDP (UN Development Program) Resident Representative concerned, among others, about whether pre-election conditions in the requesting country satisfy the established criteria for United Nations electoral assistance. (iii) If the Focal Point determines that an in-depth assessment of
the pre-election conditions is required before deciding whether to
provide assistance, the Electoral Assistance Division, usually in
cooperation with UNDP, will dispatch a needs assessment mission to
evaluate the political, material, institutional and security situation
in the requesting country. The mission will also assess the appropriateness,
necessity and potential impact of United Nations assistance and ascertain
whether the main contesting political parties and representatives
of civil society support United Nations involvement. As no precise
formula exists for determining when a pre-election situation precludes
United Nations assistance, the decision not to support an electoral
process may ultimately require a political judgment by the Focal Point
in consultation with the Secretary-General. |
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