From the right to political participation to an emerging right to democracy through the action of the United Nations and the international election observation

Resumen

The proliferation of electoral processes in most countries of the current international society leads us to consider that the right to political participation has become –according to international treaties and in practice– an obligatory right for the majority of States in the international arena. Apart from that, in this article we suggest that the right to political participation has been transformed into a right to political participation in democratic elections due to the action of the United Nations and the international organizations carrying out international election observation activities. For it, after examining the United Nations organs actions to foster electoral democracy, we will study the role and the importance of the international election observation activities to promote the political participation in democratic elections. In line with it, this study examines the role of the international election observation missions as mechanisms of control, as means to promote democratic electoral practices worldwide, as instruments for the institutional reaction of the states and international organizations in case of failure to comply with international standards, and whether international election observation can even help set the foundations for the creation of international electoral customs. To end, we also analyze if this right to political participation in democratic elections can be moving towards a right to democracy.