ELECTION OBSERVERS AND DOUBLE STANDARDS By MBAPNDAH AJONG Laurean*

When elections are held in the western world, there is hardly much talk of International or National Election Observer Missions to assess the veracity of the polls. At best one may hear of invitations extended to third world nationals, often pressmen, politicians or intellectuals to experience how their own democracies function. The presence of these people more often than not is explained by the desire of the developed world or the “advanced” democracies to dish out lessons or enable nationals from apprentice or budding democracies to measure first hand what a veritable or real democracy is all about.