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Belarus EPDE calls on the international community to support Belarusian Helsinki Committee

September 17, 2021

The Belarusian Helsinki Committee (BHC), a founding member of the EPDE, is another Belarusian human rights organization threatened with a liquidation lawsuit filed by the Ministry of Justice. The lawsuit is part of a broad campaign by the de-facto authorities in Minsk against the Belarusian civil society. Independent citizen election observation in Belarus would significantly suffer under such a blow. We call on Belarusian authorities to stop their persecution of BHC.

more ... EPDE calls on the international community to support Belarusian Helsinki Committee

Belarus #FreeViasna - we demand the release of Viasna members on first anniversary of crackdown

September 17, 2021

On the first anniversary of the unprecedented crackdown on the Human Rights Center Viasna ("Viasna") in Belarus, 23 international and Belarusian human rights organizations are launching a campaign to demand the release of seven detained Viasna members, and highlight the plight of hundreds of others, who have been prosecuted and jailed solely for exercising their rights to peaceful assembly and freedom of expression.

more ... #FreeViasna - we demand the release of Viasna members on first anniversary of crackdown

Russia Mission impossible - Election monitoring in Russia to be muzzled

August 19, 2021

The Golos Movement was declared a “foreign agent” by the Russian Ministry of Justice. Following the prevention of an international OSCE/ODIHR election observation mission under the pretext of pandemic protective measures and considerable restrictions by the CEC on the transmission of video recordings from polling stations, this latest development means that the State Duma elections will practically take place to the exclusion of independent and professional election observation.

more ... Mission impossible - Election monitoring in Russia to be muzzled

Georgia CEC of Georgia to reconsider accreditation of Belarusian CEC members as election observers

EPDE and ISFED urge Georgia’s election administration to revoke the observers’ accreditation of Ms. Mkrtchyan and Ms. Urbanovich, representatives of the Central Election Commission of the Republic of Belarus, who, as representatives of Belarus’ uncompromisingly repressive regime, were directly involved in mass falsifications of the election results during the recent presidential elections in Belarus.

more ... CEC of Georgia to reconsider accreditation of Belarusian CEC members as election observers

Belarus Georgian electoral authorities to reconsider decision to invite Belarusian CEC to observe local elections

Human Rights Defenders for Free Elections call on the Central Election Commission of Georgia to reconsider their decision to invite members of the CEC of Belarus, and its chairperson Lidziya Yarmoshyna, as international observers for the upcoming local elections. The Belarusian CEC and its chairperson were included in the sanctions lists of the EU, US, UK, and other states for participating in election fraud and actions that undermine democratic processes and institutions in Belarus.

more ... Georgian electoral authorities to reconsider decision to invite Belarusian CEC to observe local elections

Georgia Election Campaign Amid the Pandemic

EPDE, together with ISFED, hosted a roundtable concerning the organization of elections and election campaigning during the ongoing pandemic. What challenges does the election administration face in organizing the 2 October local elections? How has the pandemic impacted the ability and manner in which candidates can conduct their campaign? Has the pandemic created conditions that could make voters more vulnerable to pressure and manipulation?

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Georgia Local Elections in Georgia and the existing legal and political framework

Changes to the electoral legislation made in line with the April 19 Agreement pledged to ease the political crisis and restore trust in electoral reform. Changes included increasing the number of non-partisan appointees throughout election commissions and limiting the party’s ability to withdraw members of the district election commissions. Legislation partially met some of the OSCE recommendations, however, it is not expected that the existing legislative provisions will minimize political polarization.

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Georgia Implementation of Electoral Reform - Improvements and Persisting Challenges

EPDE, together with ISFED, hosted an online roundtable to discuss the status of implementation of the electoral reform ahead of Georgia’s local elections to be held on October 2, 2021. These elections are no ordinary elections and will demonstrate the status of Georgia’s democratic progress. Generally, the current Election Code is assessed quite positively, however, serious issues concerning the political will of the government and other institutions to implement recent reforms remain.

more ... Implementation of Electoral Reform - Improvements and Persisting Challenges

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