Many of the volunteers also post on their own blogs and social media sites, including Ms. Hussaini, who is known as Justamira on Twitter.

One way of getting across the Hunza River in the Karakoram Mountains of Pakistan is by the rickety Hussaini bridge, which consists of various pieces of wood strapped horizontally.

Many others would have just gone ahead with the election and said nothing, said Hussaini Abdu, the director of Nigeria's chapter of Action aid, which is a member of a local coalition of observers.