Election monitoring faces credibility crisis: Complacent assessments of the last ­Azerbaijani election call for revamping election observation in the EU’s neighbourhood

OSCE/ODIHR observers and elected European officials who monitored the presidential election in Azerbaijan came to radically opposite conclusions. The failure to agree on a joint assessment reveals cracks in the system and warrants a rethink on the rationale of election observation as a tool for democracy promotion.