EUPOLs Support to the Election Audit EUPOLs Rule of Law Mentor to Ministry of the Interior– Sander Agterhuis from the Netherlands, provides some brief reflections on his time as an international observer at the election audit. How many times did you observe at the IEC? “I actually went a lot, between the end of July and the end of the process, over twenty times”. So what were the highlights for you? “I really enjoyed it and for me working in the area of rule of law, it was great to be part of this historic democratic process. It was also important for the many young Afghans who were present, to see how a democratic election process should be undertaken, this helps to build skills and knowledge and capacity for the future. It was also really interesting to meet with other international observers, as well as many people from a variety of organizations who were actively involved, including of course the respective candidate’s observers”. Did you feel safe? “Yes I did, the security teams from EUPOL did a fantastic job and really looked after us well. They would often bring us water and biscuits as well as always being very focused on our safety and security. This was another positive experience because we all bonded so well with the security teams and it has also helped when back at work to help with team-working”. What were the frustrations or challenges? “At first the process was slow and I had to resist wanting to get involved, as of course we were only there to observe. Also, especially in the early days, there were sometimes some long arguments between the candidate’s observers, which could last up to an hour. The process did however speed up as time went by”. So it sounds like you got a lot out of it? “I did, I really enjoyed the whole experience and in fact it has made me very keen to do such work again, perhaps somewhere else in the world. This opportunity has provided me with the experience and many contacts”.
Posted on: Sun, 07 Sep 2014 10:29:48 +0000
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