We all agree on the importance of elections being free and fair. The Coalition of Civil Society Organizations for Elections (COSCE) in Senegal has been monitoring elections since 2000, with trained observers reporting on the voting process at hundreds of polling stations around the country. COSCE is independent and regularly publishes its findings in order to help strengthen the electoral process. It is accredited by the Senegalese Ministry in charge of elections to monitor voting throughout the entire nation.

In 2012, OneWorld has provided mapping technology for COSCE’s field operations, enabling over 500 observers to send data directly from the field via text message, providing for the first time ever an initial indication of their findings in real time. It is important to note, of course, that this data is preliminary. The Coalition will be drawing on this data as well as information received from other monitoring efforts and many other sources to make formal assessments of the voting process throughout and after Election Day.

For more information about the conduct of Senegal’s elections, please contact:

For information about OneWorld’s text message and mapping technology and its use in this other countries and contexts, contact:

The project has been funded byOxfam Novib and the British Embassy in Senegal.