• Raises transparency & accountability concerns; notes that certain such NGOs unregistered & not following reporting requirements; urges EC to scrutinise same 

Although several non-governmental organisations (NGOs) are involved in monitoring election-related activities, some of them are not registered as per the applicable legal requirements, while some have failed to adhere to the applicable reporting requirements, according to the National Secretariat for NGOs.

Highly placed sources at the Secretariat said that some of these organisations have received large amounts of funds for election monitoring-related activities, and that in a context where they have failed to adhere to the relevant legal requirements, transparency and accountability on the part of these NGOs is questionable. 

“Many of these NGOs talk about governance and transparency. But, their adherence to those qualities is in a questionable state. Some have not provided the required reports,” the sources told The Daily Morning, adding that in this context, the Election Commission (EC) should pay more attention to the legal status and credibility of the NGOs that it allows to monitor election related activities. The Secretariat was scheduled to convey some of these concerns to the EC yesterday (6).

However, the same sources acknowledged the important work done by NGOs engaged in monitoring election related activities. 

Attempts to contact members of the EC to inquire about any steps taken from their end to scrutinise the legal status of the NGOs engaged in election monitoring activities were not successful. Attempts to contact the registered polls monitor, the People’s Action for Free and Fair Elections (PAFFREL) for a comment proved futile.