Regional Conference - Venice

“Follow-up to the recommendations of international Election Observation Missions in the countries of the Eastern Partnership”

Venice, 25 October 2016

Speech by Breda PECAN, Vice-President of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities

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Dear ladies and gentlemen,

It is my pleasure to share with you here in Venice experiences about the observation of elections carried out by international missions. As you are aware, I am representing the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities on this conference, an institution of which I have been member over the last four years.  Only a few days ago, we held elections ourselves in the Congress and I was re-elected as one of the Vice-Presidents. In my private life, if I may say so, I have held different political functions in Izola, a small coastal municipality in Slovenia, over the last 20 years. I am now member of the Municipal Council.

 As far as the Congress is concerned, our institutional responsibility includes the observation of elections at the grassroots’ level. This is part of our overall mission to evaluate the situation of local and regional democracy in Europe. Based on this specific mandate, we have organised some hundred missions over the last fifteen years – mainly in Council of Europe member states and occasionally beyond. Regarding election observation in the countries of the Eastern Partnership, since 2001, the Congress has organised, all in all, four missions to Azerbaijan, seven to Georgia, 12 to Moldova and six to Ukraine.

As it is the case for many other activities, the Congress has been working in complementarity and good collaboration with other key actors in the field of elections, in particular the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, the Venice Commission, the EU Committee of the Regions and OSCE/ODIHR. An example of this close co-operation with our partners is the agreement between the Congress and the EU Committee of the Regions.  Based on this agreement, the Committee is very regularly joining the Congress in the field and we have already done a number of missions together with my colleague Arnoldas ABRAMAVICIUS, who is also here today.

The largest mission ever organised by the Congress was deployed to Ukraine for the local elections held in 2015. For the first time, members of the Parliamentary Assembly joined the Congress’ delegation, together with members of the EU Committee of the Regions. Contrary to what often happens with grassroots’ elections, namely that they are overshadowed by general elections, in Ukraine there was great awareness of the local vote, due to the specific political situation.

In 2016, the Congress organised, so far, three Election Observation Missions – in Serbia, Armenia and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Congress’ observers such as myself are elected representatives at local and regional level from the 47 member states of the Council of Europe. Many of us are experienced in the practical organisation of elections in our own municipalities. Those who have executive functions are in charge of the implementation of legal provisions related to the electoral campaign. Therefore, election observation at international level is a possibility for us to share experiences and compare the different systems used in Europe.  This is a win-win-situation for both the observers and the country in which elections are being held.

 

In addition to the country-specific observations and reports, the Congress has developed a strategy to better address problems identified during electoral missions. These issues, which are of broader relevance, have also been observed in the field during missions organised in the countries of the Eastern Partnership.

Such recurring transversal issues include, in particular:

-          the accuracy and quality of voters’ lists;

-          the professionalisation and de-politicisation of the electoral administration at all levels;

-          voting rights at local level of internally displaced people, refugees and migrants,

 as well as,

-          the misuse of administrative resources during electoral campaigns.

In this respect, last week, at its 31^st Session, the Congress adopted a Resolution with regard to the misuse of administrative resources during electoral processes at grassroots’ level and the role of local and regional elected representatives.  This work complements the Guidelines for Preventing and Responding to the Misuse of Administrative Resources during Electoral Processes recently adopted by the Venice Commission and OSCE/ODIHR. This issue is of particularly high importance at local and regional level because of the intrinsic link that exists between incumbents, candidates and public officials on one side, and the electorate on the other side.

 

The recurring issue of quality of voters’ lists also arose from concrete experiences during observation missions. Potential electoral fraud is directly related to voters who remain on electoral lists although residing – de facto – abroad. In some of the countries of the Eastern Partnership – in Moldova or Armenia for example, this issue is particularly accurate given the high number of citizens residing de facto abroad. The Congress committed to raise this issue as often as possible in a Resolution adopted in 2015 and based on the conviction that local questions should be decided by the electorate actually residing in a specific municipality.

Against the background of the current refugees’ crisis, the Congress plans to look more closely into the problem of voting rights at local level of internally displaced people, refugees and migrants. The situation of IDPs in Ukraine who were not allowed to vote in the 2015 local elections is a concrete example and underlines the degree of urgency of this issue.

All in all, we can acknowledge that many member States of the Council of Europe – including countries of the Eastern Partnership – have made considerable progress over the last years to ensure free and fair electoral processes. The professionalisation of electoral administration and the drafting of electoral laws in line with international standards are major achievements in this respect. However, there is still room for improvement in respect of key elements of the process, notably the further depoliticisation of the administration and the elimination of inconsistencies in the legislation.

Moreover, media freedom is a key condition of free and fair elections. The Congress has often observed that the role of media is being challenged by oligarch structures and insufficient legislation on transparency of media ownership. This is a threat to independent journalism. It also deprives voters of their right to make an informed choice based on unbiased media content. 

Criteria to stand in elections and, in particular, the possibility for independent candidates to compete in electoral processes should entail a fair representation of communities.  For candidates to run in elections without the political and financial support of the political establishment is a crucial issue, in particular at the local level.

In many countries the progress achieved in electoral matters is also a consequence of regular observation of elections at all levels of government.  The Congress, in co-operation with our strategic partners, is committed to continue supporting those countries who are interested in welcoming international observer delegations on their territory. In general, countries of the Eastern Partnership are interested in our monitoring work and we should thank them for their openness.

This can be a source of pride for us and remains, at the same time, our duty and mission. It is our duty to prepare ourselves in the best possible way. It is our mission to prepare, based on concrete observations, meaningful recommendations which can contribute to the consolidation of electoral processes and – more generally – to stability and peace in emerging democracies.

In order to achieve real progress with regard to the implementation of recommendations emerging from its election observation missions, the Congress has recently introduced the so-called post-election observation dialogue. This procedure may be put in place at the joint request of the Congress and the Ministries in charge of grassroots’ elections or other relevant partners, for example central election commissions, national authorities in charge of the electoral management, but also representatives of political forces or national associations of local and regional authorities. So far, one fact-finding mission in the context of its post-election dialogue has been organised by the Congress in Albania. Further to the local elections observed by the Congress at the beginning of October in Bosnia and Herzegovina, we are maintaining close contacts with our partners there and have already expressed our interested in opening such a dialogue.

More generally speaking, together with other international institutions and with domestic observers – and we will be able to continue our discussions this afternoon – the Congress stands ready to contribute to suitable solutions for ensuring democratic elections at local and regional level in all Council of Europe states, but in particular in the countries of the Eastern Partnership.

I thank you for your attention!