Purpose of this e-learning course

• to assist OSCE participating States in training their potential election observers
• to further enhance the preparation and the professionalism of election observers
• to explain the OSCE/ODIHR election observation methodology to anyone interested.

Language of the course

The e-learning course for OSCE/ODIHR STOs is available in two languages: English and Russian. Since English is the working language of OSCE/ODIHR EOMs, the Russian-language course is available primarily for the purposes of familiarization with the OSCE/ODIHR methodology. Contents of both language versions are identical, with spoken text dubbed in both languages. The main differences between two language version include:

• Quizzes are only available in the English-language course.
• In the Russian-language version of the course, participants are able to browse any module and lesson without a requirement to pass preceding modules.
• to explain the OSCE/ODIHR election observation methodology to anyone interested.

Course Structure

The course contains four modules that cover both broad methodological issues and practical aspects of the work of STOs. Each module contains three to eight thematic lessons:

Module 1: Introductory Framework

• Lesson 1: OSCE and ODIHR
• Lesson 2: Democracy and Human Rights: OSCE and Other International Standards Related to Elections
• Lesson 3: Elections – Introduction to Basic Election Concepts (Electoral Cycle and Stakeholders)

Module 2: Election Observation

• Lesson 1: Definition and Principles of Election Observation
• Lesson 2: The Purpose of Election Observation: Credibility, Transparency, Accountability, Confidence-building, Democracy Promotion
• Lesson 3: Types of Election Observers: International and Domestic Organisations
• Lesson 4: Declaration of Principles for International Electoral Observation
• Lesson 5: The Election Observation Mission: Structure, Functions, Phases of an EOM, Information Flow, LTO Preparation for STOs
• Lesson 6: The Role of the STO: Observation and Reporting, Direct vs. Indirect Observation

Module 3: The Work of an STO

• Lesson 1: STO Day-to-Day Activities, from Pre-mission Preparations to End of Mission
• Lesson 2: Observing and Reporting Tools
• Lesson 3: Polling Station Set-up and People Present
• Lesson 4: Opening Procedures
• Lesson 5: Voting Procedures
• Lesson 6: Closing and Counting Procedures
• Lesson 7: Tabulation Procedures
• Lesson 8: Final Steps for an STO in the Host Country

Module 4: Code of Conduct

• Lesson 1: Practical Implications of the Code of Conduct
• Lesson 2: Contacts with the Media
• Lesson 3: Safety Awareness and Responsibilities
• Lesson 4: The STO Team: Working with Driver and Interpreter

Knowledge Control and Quizzes

• Each module and lesson is opened and closed with summaries of the learning objectives and lessons learned. While learning objectives are formulated in a more general way with the purpose of guiding the learner through the process, lessons learned reiterate the main points of each lesson or module.
• Participants are asked to pass a 10-question quiz at the end of each module. Quiz questions address each lesson and are based on the information contained in the lessons of a corresponding module.
• Quiz questions a drawn randomly from a large pool of questions and repetition of questions is minimized for each attempt to pass a module quiz.
• The final quiz is based on the module quizzes and is structured to reflect all subject areas covered in the course.
• The final quiz can only be taken after a participant passes all four module quizzes.
• Each participant can try to pass the quiz an unlimited number of times.

Certificate

• Each learner who passes the final quiz will receive a Certificate of Completion.
• As there is no knowledge control of the participants' progress, students of the Russian-language version of the course will not receive a Certificate of Completion.

Technical requirements

In order to use the OSCE/ODIHR STO E-learning Course, please make sure your technical equipment is compatible with the following requirements:

your browser is one of the following:

• Internet Explorer 7 or greater;
• Mozilla Firefox 1.5 or greater;
• Opera 10 or greater; or
• Safari 5

you have the most recent flash version installed from Adobe - see here for more information

you run the browser on one of the following operating systems:

• Windows XP SP2 or greater
• Mac OS X 10.4 or greater, or
• Linux-based system