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Election management bodies (EMBs) can be classified according to different criteria; their composition is one of them. Most EMB typologies pertain to composition and recruitment at the top, and not at the level of sub-ordinate commissions and polling stations. wahlbeboachtung.org has undertaken preliminary research to compare EMB models in Europe on the basis of OSCE/ODIHR reports. This research illustrates that Austria shares a common model – political parties nominating poll workers – predominantly with countries in its eastern neighbourhood, but also indicates the need to conduct further research into EMB compositions and the correlations between various levels, not the least in the context of ongoing electoral reform debates in Europe.

Election observation has become a common practice in international politics and is widely perceived as an instrument to maintain and safeguard electoral integrity. International and citizen election observation practices developed in parallel to provide scrutiny of electoral processes from various perspectives, and both are based on international obligations, standards, and commitments. This article analyses whether international and citizen observation is actually possible and encouraged in states with broadly perceived electoral integrity that promote election observation in other countries. The 1990 OSCE’s Copenhagen Document, which all participating states have committed to, recommends both international and citizen election observation. International election observation activities by the OSCE/ODIHR have been increasingly dedicated to European countries with established traditions of holding democratic elections. The comparative analysis offered in this article is based on 200 OSCE/ODIHR repo...