A Canadian organisation is seeking to fundraise 7,000 Canadian dollars (€4,500) to send up to 24 independent electoral observers to Ireland for the referendum campaign to assess whether both sides “play fair” in the process. Non-governmental organisation SDAI-ADID says it is interested in “supporting and strengthening democracy through election observation” and that it wants to observe whether the electoral process adheres to “international standards of free, fair and transparent elections”.
Karen Reinhardt, who is running the online fundraiser for the mission, said that neither she, the organisation nor the observers had any preference as to the outcome of the vote.
“We are concerned with the process, not the outcome, which is solely a matter for the Irish people,” she told The Irish Times.
The NGO has been in existence since 2015, but this would be its first observation mission. It considered organising one for the 2015 marriage referendum vote but decided against it as there were other groups already committed.
Full Article: Canadian group seeks to monitor referendum campaign.