European Union | Election Observation Mission to Bangladesh 2008

Graham Elson, Deputy Chief Observer (UK)

Graham Elson, Deputy Chief Observer (UK) Graham Elson has a broad-based professional background having had careers in private industry, politics, elections and democratisation. During his period in private industry, he became General Manager of an operating division of a multinational corporation. He entered politics at local government level in the UK when he was elected to his local council in 1976, and eventually became an elected Leader of an English County Council. In 1989 he was appointed as General Secretary of the UK Liberal Democrat party. Graham left UK politics to pursue a career in election observation and democratisation programmes. He has extensive experience in this field having observed elections in around 20 countries worldwide.

María Espinosa, Election Expert (Spain)

María Espinosa has taken part in a number of election observation missions in the Balkans, in sub-saharan Africa, south-east Asia, the Middle East and the Maghreb region, most recently in Indonesia, Lebanon, Afghanistan, Iraq, Yemen, Mauritania and Pakistan. In addition, she has for several years participated in the training of national election observers, in civic education and in public relations. She lectures at several universities on issues pertaining to Islam and the Orient, organising seminars on Islamism and democratization and on conflict resolution in the Middle East. María has a Masters in Semitic Philology and in Middle Eastern Sciences.

Jonatan Henriksson, Political Expert (Sweden)

Before joining the EOM, Jonatan Henriksson worked for two years as a Junior Expert in the Political, Economic, Trade and Press Section of the European Commission Delegation in Dhaka. He thus had the opportunity of following Bangladesh politics closely during the run-up to the December 2008 elections. In an earlier career, he was a lobbyist for the European hospitality industry in Brussels, Belgium. Jonatan has a background in political science with a special interest in European integration. He was a first-time election observer during the local government elections that took place in August 2008, an experience which fueled his interest in election observation.

Lars Lagergren, Legal Expert (Sweden)

Lars Lagergren has worked in election administration and observation for almost ten years. He spent most of that time in the Balkans where among other positions he was head of the OSCE Election Department in Kosovo for three years from 2004 to 2006. He was then responsible for all election matters including the 2004 general elections, establishment of local election bodies and the transfer of election responsibilities from the international community to local authorities. Lars has been involved in Election Observation Missions for EU, UN and OSCE since 1990 in Central America, Eastern Europe, West Africa and East Timor.

Rosa Mora, Deputy Legal Expert (Spain)

Rosa Mora is a lawyer born in Barcelona. She has an MBA and a Master in Human Resources, and is completing a PhD in International Relations, specialising in International Humanitarian Law and Elections. She has worked for the Spanish Embassy, UNICEF and UNDP in several countries, and has also collaborated with the Red Cross and Human Rights Centre (University of Essex), publishing papers on human rights and armed conflict. Rosa has worked on elections for the last 11 years, including one year in Bosnia with OSCE, two years in Kosovo with OMIK as Election Officer and Field Coordinator, Technical Assistance with UN, several LTO missions with ODIHR in Macedonia, Serbia, Montenegro, Ukraine, Kirgizstan, Kazakhstan and Armenia, as well as with EU missions to Madagascar, Cambodia, Guatemala, West Bank/Gaza (Core Team), Ecuador, and Kenya.

Francesca Boggeri, Media Expert (Italy)

Francesca Boggeri, Media Analyst (Italy)

Francesca Boggeri has an M.A. in Political Science (International Studies). She is a researcher at Osservatorio di Pavia, where she is currently conducting media monitoring and analysis of Italian media for the European Commission and EU Parliament. The Osservatorio di Pavia is one of the major centres of research on mass media communication and international democratisation processes. Francesca worked as Media Analyst in the OSCE/ODHIR Missions to Tajikistan 2006, Serbia Presidential and Parliamentary Elections 2008. Before joining the institute Francesca worked for Italian NGOs, implementing programmes related to social and economic development in rural areas of developing countries and local projects for immigrant women.

Naledi Lester, Press and Public Outreach Officer (Denmark)

Naledi Trine Lester, Press and Public Outreach Officer (Denmark)

Naledi Lester has worked as an election observer since 2003, participating in EU missions in Central and South America, Africa and the Middle East. She was recently technical assistant to a domestic observation mission in Rwanda. Naledi also has experience as an editor and a journalist. Prior to election observation, she worked on refugee issues, as a legal representative for asylum-seekers and then as a researcher.

Leandro Nagore, Observer Coordinator (Spain)

Leandro Nagore has a B.A. in Philosophy, Politics and Economics and a postgraduate degree in Public International Law. He has been working in the field of elections for the last six years with the OSCE/ODDIHR, the Carter Centre and the EU, covering numerous elections in Africa, South and Central America and the former Soviet Union. In the last two years he has been employed by the Madrid Electoral Board in the organisation of the Regional, Municipal and General Elections held in Spain during this period.

Mindaugas Mėčius, Deputy Observer Coordinator (Lithuania)

Mindaugas Mėčius has a background in Political Science and International Relations. His previous professional experiences include work for the Office of Lithuanian Parliament and the OCSE Mission to Croatia. Since 1997 he has worked as a polling/voter registration supervisor, short and long-term observer on several OSCE and European Union election missions in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Ethiopia, Sri Lanka, Aceh Province, Yemen, Nigeria, Pakistan and recently Cambodia.