Observing the Election that could Reshape Britain!
Donation protected
SDAI-AIDD urgently needs funds, to help send an impartial, multinational team to observe and report on the upcoming UK general election. on December 12. Donate here to support the observation of this election that could reshape Britain! Observation mission organized by Karen Reinhardt and SDAI. Please give, whatever you can, to help us provide impartial observation in this very important election.
The Election –
The December election to the British Parliament comes after three years of a divisive and rancorous debate that followed the vote to leave the European Union in the 2016 “Brexit” referendum. It is the culmination of three years of increasingly bitter and polarising debate throughout the union. This snap general election, coming just as the UK is finally due to pull out, is likely to be bitterly fought on both sides.
One eventual consequence of the current political acrimony could be a breakup of the UK itself, with Northern Ireland eventually uniting with the Irish Republic and Scottish nationalists pushing for a re-run of the 2014 Scottish independence referendum.
While Britain has one of the world’s oldest parliamentary democracies, its image has become tarnished in recent years with several controversies over the way recent elections were conducted. In addition, this year the government has said it may try to oblige voters to produce photo ID to take part in the election – in a country where carrying such ID has never been a legal requirement. Opponents of this move fear that it will create confusion and prevent significant numbers of people from voting.
There are other reasons to fear voter apathy. It will be Britain’s third general election in just over four years; the previous votes were held in 2015 and 2017. In addition, hastily organized European Parliament elections were held in May of this year after Britain extended its original March deadline for leaving the EU. Timing is a factor too: traditionally, elections are held in the spring or autumn, away from the main holiday periods. This year, voters will be expected – for the first time since 1923 -- to turn out on the darkest and coldest days of the year at a time when their minds are more usually focussed on preparations for Christmas.
Who We Are & What We’re Doing –
SDAI-ADID is a small Canadian-based NGO interested in supporting and strengthening democracy through election observation. We are sending an international election observation team to the UK to observe whether or not all sides "play fair", and that the process adheres to international standards of free, fair and transparent elections.
What We'll Do With the Money –
Observers pay many of the costs themselves. However, funds raised will be used to pay for trainings and briefings by in-country experts, training and briefing materials for the observers, overnight costs for observers, and transportation costs to move about the country as they observe activities in the polling stations.
How Your Donation Helps –
Your donation will help provide the means to observe throughout the country and to provide in-depth information, delivered by experts, to prepare our observers in the field to perform their tasks knowledgeably and professionally.
Your support is critical to this mission and will have an enormous impact on the quality of the observation and its resulting reports to British electoral bodies and stakeholders on all sides of the issue.
The Election –
The December election to the British Parliament comes after three years of a divisive and rancorous debate that followed the vote to leave the European Union in the 2016 “Brexit” referendum. It is the culmination of three years of increasingly bitter and polarising debate throughout the union. This snap general election, coming just as the UK is finally due to pull out, is likely to be bitterly fought on both sides.
One eventual consequence of the current political acrimony could be a breakup of the UK itself, with Northern Ireland eventually uniting with the Irish Republic and Scottish nationalists pushing for a re-run of the 2014 Scottish independence referendum.
While Britain has one of the world’s oldest parliamentary democracies, its image has become tarnished in recent years with several controversies over the way recent elections were conducted. In addition, this year the government has said it may try to oblige voters to produce photo ID to take part in the election – in a country where carrying such ID has never been a legal requirement. Opponents of this move fear that it will create confusion and prevent significant numbers of people from voting.
There are other reasons to fear voter apathy. It will be Britain’s third general election in just over four years; the previous votes were held in 2015 and 2017. In addition, hastily organized European Parliament elections were held in May of this year after Britain extended its original March deadline for leaving the EU. Timing is a factor too: traditionally, elections are held in the spring or autumn, away from the main holiday periods. This year, voters will be expected – for the first time since 1923 -- to turn out on the darkest and coldest days of the year at a time when their minds are more usually focussed on preparations for Christmas.
Who We Are & What We’re Doing –
SDAI-ADID is a small Canadian-based NGO interested in supporting and strengthening democracy through election observation. We are sending an international election observation team to the UK to observe whether or not all sides "play fair", and that the process adheres to international standards of free, fair and transparent elections.
What We'll Do With the Money –
Observers pay many of the costs themselves. However, funds raised will be used to pay for trainings and briefings by in-country experts, training and briefing materials for the observers, overnight costs for observers, and transportation costs to move about the country as they observe activities in the polling stations.
How Your Donation Helps –
Your donation will help provide the means to observe throughout the country and to provide in-depth information, delivered by experts, to prepare our observers in the field to perform their tasks knowledgeably and professionally.
Your support is critical to this mission and will have an enormous impact on the quality of the observation and its resulting reports to British electoral bodies and stakeholders on all sides of the issue.
Organizer
Karen Reinhardt
Organizer
Pleasantville, NS
