Category: Travel

Walkers

Gladwyn Jebb was a distinguished civil servant, diplomat and politician. References to him abound in Kenneth Rose’s Journals and, to a lesser extent, in Harold Nicolson’s Diaries. Curiously Chips Channon only mentions Gladwyn once in his Diaries.

Out for the Count

An unusual feature of voting in Moldova is the mobile voting box. Voters may request that the ballot box comes to them if they are bed-ridden or in prison, for example.

A Day in the Field

F and I got to our first polling station at 6.25 am – thirty-five minutes before opening time. All the election staff were there making preparations.

Culture in Chisinau

I bet you are bored with Election Observation protocol, so I will reward your patience with what really happens in the field.

Election Day

After a day travelling and three days of briefings and preparation it is time for the STOs to do their job. It’s as well to have an alarm clock because an STO and his partner arrive at the first polling station between an hour and thirty minutes before it opens – typically at 7.00 am.

Day by Day

It has been customary to hold General Elections in the UK on Thursdays since the 1930s. The tradition originated because Thursday was often Market day and voters would be in town. Now, as a result of the ill-advised Fixed-term Parliaments Act of 2011, they are held every five years on the first Thursday in May.… Continue reading Day by Day

How to be an STO

Who appoints the LTOs and STOs on an EOM? If you don’t know what the initials stand for, read yesterday’s post.

Mission to Moldova

I spent yesterday travelling to Chisinau on Turkish Airlines with a stop-over in Istanbul. I am here as part of an Election Observation Mission (EOM).

Javea Architecture

On the skyline, inland from the lighthouse, there are eleven disused windmills, mostly dating from the 18th century.