Worldwide, there is a heightened awareness of the need for positive connection and accountability – whether between government and governed, lender and borrower, or producer and consumer. Young people today have a growing sense, perhaps more widely evident than ever before, that decisions which affect their lives should be open to their contribution. Managed within the bounds of due representative constitutional process and the rule of law, this is a most healthy development – it expresses the culture of democracy.
A defining characteristic of the Commonwealth is the voluntary commitment of our member states, collectively and individually, to embedding, protecting and continually improving the means whereby our citizens engage in democratic processes. Together we strive for government that is ever more accountable and responsive – whether at national, local or community level.
The secure and orderly conduct of elections, that enjoy the confidence of all participants, is fundamental if the will and aspirations of the people are to be expressed and respected. Credible democratic processes depend, in turn, on the electorate being informed through a free, vibrant and responsible media and enjoying the security that comes from knowing their rights of free association and freedom of expression will be honoured and upheld.
I recently met with the Commonwealth Electoral Network – a gathering of representative national electoral management bodies from across the Commonwealth. This newly established peer group, which assembled in Canada at the end of June, carries responsibility for the conduct of elections across a very wide spectrum of states, and yet it is striking that many of the challenges they need to overcome – if they are to retain the confidence of the populace at large in their ability to deliver successful, free and fair elections – are common ones. Nauru, with a population of some 10,000, sat at the same table and on equal terms – as is always the way in Commonwealth meetings – with India, whose people number more than 1.2 billion, in pursuing a common goal.
Whether it is regulation of campaign finance, managing voter registration, ensuring a level playing field or overcoming voter apathy, the essential building blocks that need to be put in place by national institutions across the Commonwealth bear a remarkable similarity – despite the dramatic diversity in both the scale and the setting of the populations they serve.
Another fresh initiative is our work with young people employed in national election management bodies. Our aim is to build their skills and confidence. In the Commonwealth today, where 70 percent of our population is under the age of 30 years, we must ensure not only that young people have employment opportunities but also feel fully part of the electoral process and its institutions.
Election observation is a longstanding and highly visible part of the work of the Commonwealth. It is by learning from one another, and listening to the counsel of experts drawn from across the Commonwealth family, that our member states are helped in entrenching their democratic procedures. Were it not for the existence of national electoral management bodies ready to take action and implement reform, the observations of our Commonwealth Observer Groups would be largely in vain.
To help them in this task, the Commonwealth has launched a shared web space dedicated to electoral officials where they can collaborate online to carry forward the work begun in Canada. It is by adopting the innovative tools of today to prepare for the challenges of tomorrow, and through new bodies such as the Commonwealth Electoral Network, that the Commonwealth proves itself adaptable, ready and responsive to the demands and expectations of rising generations.
