Agora Election Observation invites young people (between 18 and 35 years old) to join the upcoming Election Observation Mission (EOM) to the Parliamentary Elections in Poland scheduled for the 15th of October 2023.
The EOM will be deployed for six nights and aims to provide valuable insights and observations. This means that you should arrive in Warsaw no later than Wednesday before the Elections (the 11th October) and can depart on Tuesday after E-Day (17th October).
An EOM will be deployed prior to the upcoming elections, including Mission Coordinators and Observers. MCs will arrive five days in advance to Warsaw for preparatory activities and Observers will arrive four days before the Election Day, the 15th October (Sunday).
Successful applicants will receive training, complete specific research assignments, and then follow the voting, counting and tabulation procedures in various locations throughout the country on the day of elections. They will further meet with local, national and international political stakeholders, civil society organisations and youth representatives in Poland during the days prior to election day.
The observation of elections by independent observers contributes to the transparency of the process and is a valuable instrument of democratic control. The findings of the mission will be compiled into a report to be published after deployment and distributed amongst relevant authorities.
MISSION PROGRAMME
Prior to arrival in Poland, observers will be required to:
- take an election observation training on the principles and methods of international election observation
- conduct background research and social media monitoring on a specific topic related to the participation, involvement and engagement of youth in the upcoming elections in Poland.
In Warsaw, three days before the Election Day, observers will:
- take part in a briefing on the political situation of the country;
- attend various meetings with local officials, political stakeholders, experts, scholars and civil society representatives as well as, in particular, with youth organisations and youth activists in the country.
One day before the Election Day, observers will:
- be deployed in different locations in Poland;
On the Election Day, observers will:
- visit a number of polling stations to observe the opening, voting and closing processes throughout the day, as well as the counting and tabulation processes later that evening.
On the day following election day, observers will:
- return to Warsaw to attend a debriefing, and
- discuss and summarise the findings of observations conducted with other observers and the Mission Coordinators.
REQUIREMENTS
To become an international Short-Term Observer, an applicant must:
- be between 18 and 35 years old;
- have a solid command of English;
- hold no citizenship of Poland. Please note that Polish nationals are not eligible to apply as international election observers for this mission. However, you can apply to support the mission as Local Coordinators or Interpreters
- legally reside in a European country.;
- be available from September on to conduct background research on the political situation of Poland as concerns youth;
- be fully available to travel to Poland and attend the entire deployment;
- be able to cover own costs*.
APPLICATION PROCEDURE
Please apply here no later than 14 September 2023 at 23:59 CET. We encourage you to apply earlier as applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis.
In case of questions, please contact Mansiya Samambet, Mission & Methodology Manager, at m.samambet@agoraelectionobservation.org or Ana Pacu, Mission & Methodology Manager, at a.pacu@agoraelectionobservation.org
We look forward to your application!
* In general, our Missions are organised on a 100% voluntary basis and do not involve any remuneration or reimbursement of travel and accommodation expenses. Participants are responsible themselves to have adequate health insurance coverage during the EOM. This applies to Observers as well as members of the Agora Election Observation team.