On 16 December, AEGEE Europe has deployed a 25-member Election Observation Mission (EOM) for the Spanish General Elections, to be held on Sunday, 20 December 2015. The Mission is headquartered in Madrid, with observer teams to be sent to Alicante, Barcelona, Bilbao, Seville, Valencia and Vigo.
The AEGEE EOM is comprised of youth from Austria, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Finland, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, the United Kingdom and the United States. They have all been trained according to the methodology of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) and have been conducting research on Spain’s political and electoral climate for the past six weeks. AEGEE EOM to Spain is the 12th EOM since the beginning of AEGEE Election Observation in May 2014.
Spain electoral law is silent on international election observation, but Spain, as all participating States to the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), committed to grant access to international observers to monitor their national elections in the 1990 Copenhagen Document.
AEGEE/European Students’ Forum is one of Europe’s biggest interdisciplinary youth organisations. One of its aims is to enhance Civic Education among European youth and foster democracy and cross-border cooperation within our continent. In compliance with internationally-agreed principles for election observation, AEGEE Election Observation aims to engages young people in electoral processes, enhance their understanding of the tools of democratic procedures and provide them with valuable experience as international observers. AEGEE EOM will complete its observation of the Spanish General Elections and issue a preliminary statement on 21 December 2015 and a full report on its observation within a month after Election Day.
For further information please contact Marije Arenze, AEGEE Election Observation external relations manager, at marije.arenze@aegee.org.