14e PLENARY SESSION

According to the Congress Charter (May 2007), the Secretary General of the Congress must be elected by the members of the Congress according to a procedure adopted by the Standing Committee which clarifies those points which are not dealt with in the Charter itself.

In adopting the Rules of Procedure of the Congress and its Chambers at its 15th Plenary Session in May 2008, the Congress thus entrusted its two Rapporteurs with preparing a draft procedure to be submitted for examination and vote to the Standing Committee in December 2008.

This procedure will be appended to the Rules of Procedure and will be implemented from the next election, scheduled for the 17th Plenary Session, in October 2009.

2. Local consequences of the conflict between Georgia and Russia: support from European local and regional authorities

Rapporteur: Dubravka SUICA (Croatia, L, EPP/CD)

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Resolution

The Congress is concerned by the local consequences of the conflict and in particular wishes to draw the attention of the international community to the urgent tasks which fall to local and regional authorities affected directly or indirectly by this conflict. They must contribute to managing the crisis situation at local level. However, their human and financial resources and expertise, are markedly disproportionate with regard to the scale of needs on the ground.

The Congress appeals to local and regional authorities of the rest of Europe to help their counterparts affected in the conflict zone.

The aid can range from donations to the provision of personnel and the supply of expertise. Communities which had to face similar crises after conflicts or natural disasters are sought for their experience in such matters. For its part, the Congress identifies actions for the middle and the longer term which aim particularly at the consolidation of local and regional democracy, dialogue and reconciliation.

Mrs Dubravka Suica, Vice-President of the Congress and Mayor of Dubrovnik (Croatia), is the Rapporteur on this draft Resolution on behalf of the Congress Bureau.

3. Local and provincial elections in Serbia (11 and 25 May 2008)

Rapporteur: Paolo Rondelli, San Marino (L, SOC)

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Recommendation

In March 2008 the Congress was invited to observe the local elections throughout Serbia and the Assembly elections in the autonomous provice of Vojvodina. On 21 April 2008 the Bureau appointed an observer delegation, headed by Paolo Rondelli (San Marino, SOC, L) and with Susan Bolam as Rapporteur (UK, EPP/CD, R). The delegation observed the local and provincial elections on 11 May. It returned to Serbia in a reduced format for the second round of the elections to the Vojvodina Assembly on 25 May.

The delegation was composed of 21 Members of the Congress and three Members of the European Union’s Committee of the Regions, assisted by Congress Secretariat. The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, and other international organisations, observed the parliamentary elections conducted at the same time.

The delegation concluded that the local and provincial elections were conducted in line with international election standards. The two polling days, 11 and 25 May, were marked by a calm voting environment and the absence of significant irregularities. Polling boards performed professionally throughout the country. However, the secrecy of the vote was in part compromised by inadequate premises and voting booths, as well as very large local Polling Boards.

The delegation underlined that Serbia needs a clearly identifiable local leadership. Political parties and coalitions should be obliged to determine, and announce, the order of all candidates on their list before the elections rather than allowing them to freely choose their successful candidates after Election Day on the basis of the number of obtained mandates. Contrary to previous legislation, the current Law on Local Elections lacks clarity about the post of Mayor: it was not certain that the first person on a list was the main candidate for the post as Mayor. The new Law on Local Elections also institutionalises the practice of blank resignation forms from each candidate, which further concentrates power in the hands of party leaders.

The delegation also concluded that the simultaneous organisation of local and parliamentary elections should be avoided, to allow sufficient space for discussion of issues at the respective levels.

4. Local elections in Armenia observed (28 September 2008)

Rapporteur: Véronique Moreira, France (R, NR)

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Recommendation

Following the invitation from the authorities of the Republic of Armenia, the Congress decided to send a delegation to observe the elections of the Local Self-Government Bodies in five out of the 12 communities of the City of Yerevan on 28 September 2008. The delegation was headed by Mrs Veronique Moreira, member of the French delegation to the Congress (for the complete composition of the delegation, see Appendix 1).

The elections were held for the head of the community in two communities and for the council of Elders’ in the three others.

The Congress delegation expressed concern that “lack of transparency and tensions at a number of locations” overshadowed “the continuing development of local democracy in Armenia”. In conclusion, the delegation stated “that local elections in Armenia showed that local democracy needs further tangible consolidation”.

5. Local elections in Bosnia and Herzegovina observed on 5 October 2008

Rapporteur: Nigel Mermagen, United Kingdom (L, ILDG)

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Recommendation

Following an official invitation from the Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) authorities to observe the municipal elections in BiH on Sunday 5 October 2008 and based on the Election Law of BiH, which provides for access of both international and domestic observers to elections, the Congress appointed an observer delegation comprising members of the Congress and the EU Committee of the Regions. The delegation was headed by Ms Marie-Rose Koro, member of the French delegation to the Congress (for complete composition of the delegation, see Appendix I).

The role of the Congress delegation was to examine the electoral process, to ensure that it complied with international standards, and that the conditions for democratic and transparent elections were met.

The observation mission qualified the elections ‘in accordance with Council of Europe and international standards for democratic elections’. The poll remained free of major incidents. The Congress delegation regretted, however, the low voter turnout, especially in major cities throughout the country and ethnic division which marred the campaign.

6. Congress policy in observing local and regional elections

Rapporteur: Véronique Moreira, France (R, NR)

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Resolution

The report describes the Congress experience in observing local and regional elections and its unique role specifically recognised in the new Statutory Resolution and Charter of the Congress. It presents the measures taken over the last few years to improve its local and regional elections observation capacity and deals with the co-operation with internal and external partners. This report recommends developing a real Congress election observation strategy.

7. Local democracy in Latvia: participation of non-citizens in public and political life at local level

Rapporteur: Jean-Claude Frécon, France (L, SOC)

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Recommendation

Resolution

The subject of the present report is the participation of non-citizens in public and political life at local level in Latvia. In the absence of any information on progress from the Latvian Government since 2005, the rapporteur undertook a fact-finding mission to the country in April 2008. The unusual situation where 16% of the country’s population does not possess Latvian citizenship, together with the fact that these non-citizens cannot participate in elections at the local level emphasizes the Congress’ concern. The vast majority of non-citizens are long-term residents, often born in the country and largely integrated within the society, but nevertheless excluded from electing representatives in their municipalities of residence. Although the Latvian government undertakes serious efforts to further integrate non-citizens, it neither intends to grant non-citizens voting rights at local level nor to open a large political debate on the subject. Naturalisation is regarded by the Latvian government as a sufficient way to obtain voting rights, while many non-citizens for various reasons (in particular related to the history of the country) do not wish to go through the naturalization procedure. The report recommends that the Latvian authorities grant voting rights at local level to non-citizens.

8. Local democracy in Belgium: non-appointment by the Flemish authorities of three mayors

Rapporteurs: Michel Guégan, France (L, NR)

Dobrica Milovanovic, Serbia (R, NR)

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Recommendation

Resolution

The subject of this report concerns the non-appointment of three mayors by the Flemish authorities. Further to the request from the Bureau of the Chamber of Local Authorities, Rapporteurs Michel Guégan and Dobrica Milovanovic visited Belgium where they met the Flemish Minister of Interior, the three non-appointed mayors as well as representatives of Belgian governmental authorities and members of Parliament, and associations of local authorities. This visit underlined five breaches of the European Charter of Local Self-Government, which are: the disruption in the management of public affairs caused by the non-appointment of three mayors, despite being democratically elected ; an obstruction to the participation in the local political life because of the interdiction, by enforcement of the law, of the use of the French language by the mayor and deputy mayors, in municipalities with so-called “special arrangements”, which are mainly composed of French-speaking citizens ; a proportionality problem with the non-appointment decision in relation to the faults, which are reproached to the mayors ; an excessive supervision applied by the Flemish authorities ; and the non-respect of Recommendation 131 (2003). For the time being, the three mayors are still not appointed. The report proposes a resolution calling for a general monitoring of Belgium and a recommendation to the Belgian authorities, asking in particular to appoint the elected mayors, and to reconsider the mode of the appointment of mayors in Flanders and in the Brussels-Capital Region in the light of Recommendation 131 (2003), as well as the linguistic laws.

9. Preparation of a draft Protocol to the European Charter of Local Self-Government on democratic participation at local level

Rapporteur: Christopher NEWBURY (United Kingdom, EPP/CD)

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Opinion

The present opinion expresses the Congress’ support to the draft additional protocol to the European Charter of Local Self-Government on democratic participation at local level prepared by the European Committee on Local and Regional Democracy (CDLR). Despite its doubts as to whether the Charter of Local Self-Government was the right place to lay down the principle of citizens’ participation, the Congress welcomes this initiative due to the crucial importance of strengthening citizens’ participation at local level. The Congress would need additional time to look deeper in the substance of the provisions and stands ready to actively contribute to the finalisation of the draft.