For the last seven days i've not been in the MES office, i've been in Macedonia observing their local elections as part of a OSCE Election Observation Mission. The OSCE (Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe) is an international organisation made up of 57 member states who meet together to look at a number of issues relating to security cooperation in the region. They also cover human rights and democracy and one of their most prominent activities is the observation of elections in their member states.
So it was through this process that I found myself on a flight to Skopje last week to join up with a group of observers from around the world (I believe at least twenty coutries were represented). The other observers came from all walks of life, we had people who were part of international efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan, others who were working on the humanitarian situation in Sudan, and we also had people who worked in local councils or central government departments here in the UK. We even had a few people who'd stood for election themselves in the past.
