The United Kingdom’s IPU delegation had invited a small group of international colleagues to be election observers during the referendum on continued British membership of the EU. In addition to Svendsen, political leaders from Finland, Denmark, Switzerland and Belgium took part.

Followed entire process

As officially authorised observers of the Electoral Commission, Svendsen and his colleagues followed the entire process. They began by attending the opening of a polling station at 7 a.m. As the day proceeded the observers visited 10 different polling stations, and were present for the 10 p.m. closing. The observation team then followed a ballot box to the counting centre in Brixton and looked on as the votes from the constituency of Lambeth were counted. As it turned out, voting in this particular constituency was little representative of the national outcome. With the exception of Gibraltar, Lambeth was the election district with the highest proportion of votes in favour of continued membership.

The evening concluded at Guildhall in the City of London, where all the results from around London were assembled. When the observers withdrew around midnight, victory appeared fairly certain for those favouring continued membership – an expectation that would change in the course of the night.

Carried out with style

Although most polling officials were unaccustomed to the presence of observers, they were very accommodating.

“I was impressed by the way the British conducted the voting. Not least, there was a pleasant, casual tone in the polling stations, some of which were small. We visited places as diverse as churches, schools, a golf club, a synagogue, a sailing association and even a pub that served as a polling station,” says Svendsen, adding that service in the pub was closed for the occasion.

Differences

The observation group also had a good opportunity to discuss national differences in how elections/referendums are carried out. The Swiss observer, for example, thought the British system was a little cumbersome. In Switzerland, voters automatically receive all election material by post and can vote by simply returning a postage-paid envelope. The Swiss, however, have a referendum on average every three months.

“The (British) arrangement was much like ours in Norway, but in the UK you can give another person authority to vote for you,” Svendsen explains. “They also have a system of numbered ballots and a list that can be used to link each voter to a ballot. In theory this makes it is possible to find out who voted for what, but we were told that this list can only be opened by court order in connection with a complaint.”

Neutrality

It is essential for election observers to conduct themselves neutrally during the observation period and while off duty as well. Kenneth Svendsen therefore exhibits caution when commenting on the outcome of the referendum. “The result was relatively surprising and has to be considered historic,” he says. “It will be exciting to follow the way ahead for the UK.”