This September, Scotland will hold a referendum on whether it should be an independent country. The question asked in the referendum will be “Should Scotland be an independent country?”. The Scottish independence referendum is a once in a generation opportunity for people in Scotland to have their say about the country’s future.
ISCA-AIDC, an NGO based in Charlottetown, is offering a limited number of individuals the opportunity to participate as international election observers for this historic vote. While in Scotland, participants will receive training covering various aspects of election monitoring and the chance to observe voting during the referendum as an officially accredited international observer. “All election observers will be based in Edinburgh and on voting day will visit up to 8-10 polling stations” said Lloyd Dalziel, the event organizer. “Each team of three observers will have the chance to monitor these polling stations, with some of them in Edinburgh but also some in the smaller rural villages. The mission will be an opportunity to introduce observers to the fundamental principles of election monitoring. For example, one of those principles requires each observer to sign a letter of agreement and code of conduct as they must maintain strict impartiality in their conduct, and never express any bias or preferences in the referendum process”
ISCA-AIDC has been working in areas of democracy development both in Canada and overseas since 2006. Last fall it organized the first North American BRIDGE training in Ottawa. BRIDGE, or Building Resources in Democracy, Governance, and Elections, is the world leading curriculum for electoral practitioners used by many electoral commissions throughout the world and the United Nations Development Organization. The organization also supports community level democratic development through the cooperative model it employs in its development work abroad. Event organizer Mr. Dalziel has served as an electoral monitor and adviser with organizations such as the United Nations, the Organization of American States, and the European Union.
“The mission is scheduled for September 12-21, and while observers will be busy that week with training, pre-deployment planning, voting day, and debriefings, there still will be plenty of time for touring some of the sites in Scotland”, says Dalziel. “2014 is set to be an exciting and historic year for Scotland with the holding of the independence referendum, the 700 anniversary of the Battle of Bannockburn and Scotland’s hosting of the Commonwealth games”. For more information on the Observation Mission to the Scottish Referendum, please visit www.isca-aidc.ca or email info@isca-aidc.ca