On August 20, 2024, the newly-elected GNDEM Board held its first virtual meeting and adopted the network’s new strategic plan. The plan follows a series of virtual strategic planning sessions held with GNDEM members between March and June, and the meeting of GNDEM’s Coordinating Committee in Nairobi, Kenya from June 24 to 26, 2024. The plan reviews and affirms GNDEM’s vision, mission, core values, and guiding principles.

GNDEM defines its vision as a distinguished global network of credible and capable citizen election monitoring and observation entities, advocating for citizen election observers' rights and promoting democracy, civic participation, and electoral integrity globally. To work towards this vision, GNDEM’s mission is to facilitate, enhance, support, and advocate for the critical work, credibility, rights, and visibility of citizen election monitoring and observation entities as efforts towards promoting democracy, civic participation, and electoral integrity globally.

Among these core values, GNDEM emphasized its commitment to fostering impartial and objective electoral observation. GNDEM and its members should promote credibility, integrity, and transparency in its internal functions and its work. GNDEM and its members stand in solidarity with independent citizen election monitors who face significant challenges in observing elections. Finally, GNDEM and its members should both promote and reflect a culture of diversity, equity and inclusion.

Recognizing the importance of clear standards to guide member organizations in their efforts to promote inclusive, transparent and accountable elections, the Board and Coordinating Committee crafted a set of guiding principles for GNDEM:

  • Accountability
  • Adaptability
  • Collaboration
  • Continuity
  • Effective Communication
  • Impact
  • Innovation
  • Knowledge Sharing
  • Proactive Capacity Development
  • Professionalism

As the state of observers’ rights around the world remains under threat, GNDEM’s leadership conducted an analysis of stakeholders and strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. Based on our mandate and the outcomes of these analyses, the plan outlines four key strategy priority areas and corresponding goals that GNDEM will focus on over the next five years:

1. GNDEM Members Capacity Strengthening and Coordination

Strategic Goal: Enhanced capacity and coordination of GNDEM members and regional networks to deliver on their mandate.

This strategic priority area will strengthen the capacity of GNDEM members—national organizations and regional networks—to deliver their mandates. The focus area will also encourage collaboration and coordination initiatives among members to foster best practices, experience sharing, and solidarity.

2. Recognition, Promotion, and Protection of Citizen Election Observer Rights

Strategic Goal: Improved response to growing threats and violation of citizen election observer rights globally.

This strategic priority area will focus on championing the recognition, promotion, and protection of citizen election observer rights globally.

3. Harnessing Emerging Opportunities and Addressing Threats to Electoral Integrity Globally

Strategic Goal: Enhanced thought leadership and voice on emerging opportunities and threats to electoral integrity globally.

Appreciating growing threats to electoral integrity globally, GNDEM will endeavor to position itself as a leader and credible voice, highlighting emerging threats to electoral integrity and opportunities to harness electoral integrity globally.

4. Institutional Excellence

Strategic Goal: Enhanced research and knowledge management for evidence-based advocacy, lobbying, and democratic development.

This strategic focus area examines internal organizational well-being and seeks to strengthen GNDEM’s internal capacity and competence to deliver quality services while ensuring sustainability.

5. Enhanced Organizational Development and Institutional Sustainability of GNDEM

To deliver high-quality interventions GNDEM will develop strategies for resource mobilization, communication, and advocacy on priority issues. GNDEM will continue to work to advance its relationship with donors and stakeholders, and develop relationships with new potential donors to cultivate diverse and stable sources of funding.

The GNDEM Board will continue to meet virtually to design and implement activities in line with these strategic goals. GNDEM’s leadership is committed to advancing our mission supporting the work of credible citizen observation, and continues to work to promote democracy, civic participation, and electoral integrity globally.