EU EOM Identifies Seven Priority Areas in Presidential Election Report

The European Election Observation Mission (EU EOM) to the Maldives has released its conclusive report on the 2023 presidential election, outlining seven key priority areas for improvement. 

The seven priority areas identified by the EU EOM are as follows:

advertisement

• Improve civic and voter education to strengthen political rights and curb vote-buying.
• Restrain the instrumentalisation of state resources during election campaigns.
• Reform campaign finance law and improve enforcement of the rules.
• Provide professional training for journalists to promote more ethical election coverage.
• Support fact-checking initiatives to combat misinformation.
• Introduce measures to promote women to more leadership positions in public and political life.
• Ensure that ballot papers are not invalidated where the intention of the voter is clear.

The mission’s primary objective is to contribute to the enhancement of future electoral processes. In this pursuit, the EU EOM has put forth a set of 20 recommendations for consideration by the relevant authorities.

The mission noted that political and campaign fund-raising and financial expenditure lack transparency and effective oversight. The EU EOM also recorded the political partisanship of the media, including public service media, while there were some indications of information manipulation in social media.

Following an eleven-week-long observation in the country, upon the invitation of national authorities, the report presents the findings and recommendations of the EU EOM.

To view the full report: https://www.eeas.europa.eu/eom-maldives-2023/final-report-presidential-election-maldives-2023_en?s=410327