Reports

Challenges for election campaign finance in Georgia

ISFED
Georgia

Open
Document

EPDE member ISFED published a study on financial challenges for Georgian political parties and election campaigns. The study aims to identify the financial challenges for the election campaigns of the political parties during the elections, as well as invisible barriers for regional politicians, women, representatives of ethnic minorities, and independent candidates.

 

Electoral systems for Georgia's representative bodies

ISFED
Georgia

Open
Document

EPDE member ISFED published a policy paper which evaluates electoral systems for three levels of representative bodies in Georgia – the Parliament of Georgia, Supreme Council of the Autonomous Republic of Adjara, and Municipal Councils - and proposes solutions to their shortcomings. The policy paper is produced with the financial support of the National Endowment for Democracy (NED)

 

Policy Alert

Law on Foreign Agents in Georgia is an attack against civil society

EPDE
Georgia

Open
Document

The European Platform for Democratic Elections (EPDE) voices its severe concern over the draft bill “On Transparency of Foreign Influence” in Georgia. The stigmatization of non-governmental organizations as "foreign agents" marks the next stage in the Georgian parliamentary majority's fight against civil society. The draft law is based on the Russian example, where a similar law was introduced a decade earlier and led to the de facto liquidation of NGOs involved in monitoring political and social processes and, first and foremost, monitoring elections.

 

Policy Alert

Single Voting Day 2022 held amid war and restrictions of fundamental freedoms

EPDE
Russia

Open
Document

The Single Voting Day in Russia was conducted amid the ongoing war against Ukraine and restrictions on fundamental freedoms at home. Freedom of speech and expression are under attack as independent voices and sources of information have been systematically shut down. Simultaneously, the election conditions were fundamentally unfair, as candidates were blocked from participating.

 

EPDE Publication

Media and Freedom of Expression in the EU – Eastern Partnership and Russian Federation

EPDE

Open
Document

This report is published at a time of Russian invasion of Ukraine. It underscores the central role of freedom of expression in the maintenance of democracy at home, as well as international order and security abroad. This report provides the analysis and conclusions on the state of freedom of expression and the work of the media in seven countries of the EU Eastern Neighborhood, namely Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, Ukraine, and Russia.

 

EPDE Publication

Puzzling rules-equal game?

EPDE
EU in focus

Open
Document

This study compares political finance regulations across the EU and identifies common challenges and possible responses to those. The recommendations of this study seek to enhance EU-level regulation of political finance with the aim to replicate this at the national level.

 

Election report

Referendum 2022: Final report

BHC & Viasna
Belarus

Open
Document

Significant violations of national legislation and the fundamental principles of holding fair and democratic elections during the referendum, including depriving observers of the opportunity to witness the vote count, does not give grounds to trust the election results announced by the CEC.

 

Policy Alert

A tilted playing field favors the government in Hungary’s April 3 parliamentary elections

EPDE
Hungary

Open
Document

Parliamentary elections are taking place in Hungary on April 3 and will be decided among two political blocks in an unprecedentedly polarized environment. Several concerns raised regarding the elections relate to the legal environment, while others to the uneven playing field, especially regarding the media landscape and campaign financing, which all tilt the playing field toward the incumbent government.

 

Belarus

Constitutional referendum – findings and conclusions

BHC & Viasna
Belarus

Open
Document

The constitutional referendum took place against the backdrop of a profound socio-political crisis that began immediately after the 2020 presidential election and the pervasive atmosphere of repression targeting those disloyal to the authorities, as well as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The Human Rights Defenders for Free Elections issued their preliminary report of their expert mission to this referendum, examining the lack of any electoral reforms since the 2020 post-election crisis; the intransparent manner in which the draft amendments were presented and discussed publicly without outside critical involvement; the numerous violations of international standards and national legislation in preparing and conducting the referendum. There was no independent monitoring of all types of voting or the vote count due to the CEC restrictions on the number of observers at polling stations.

 

Hungary

Legalized vote tourism threatens next year’s parliamentary election in Hungary

EPDE
Hungary

Open
Document

An amendment passed by the Hungarian parliament in November introduced a new legal definition of ‘residence’: instead of the place where the citizen lives, it now stands for little more than a contact address in official communication. Though the change may appear minor and administrative, it could have far-reaching consequences for the upcoming parliamentary elections. 

 

Policy Alert

Policy Alert #10 - Two Down, One To Go: Armenia’s 2021 Local Elections

EPDE
Armenia

Open
Document

In the wake of the early parliamentary election on June 20, 2021, 54% of the electorate will have a second chance to vote during the autumn 2021 local elections. Several communities have already held their city council elections on October 17 and November 14, but the biggest wave will take place on December 5.

 

Policy Alert

Policy Alert #9 - Armenian Local Elections Rescheduled And Expanded Due To Municipal Amalgamations

EPDE
Armenia

Open
Document

Armenia is holding its most important local (city council) elections in recent years this autumn, as the proportional party list system is expanding at the municipal level. A delayed municipal amalgamation process has pushed back dates but is now complete. The revised local election dates for 2021 are October 17, November 14 and December 5.

 

Policy Alert

Local Elections in Georgia and the existing legal and political framework

EPDE
Georgia

Open
Document

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.

 

Election Alert

CEC restricts journalists' access to the electoral process

EPDE
Russia

Open
Document

Photo: Roger H. Goun, 2008. CC BY 3.0

On 28 July 2021, the Central Election Commission adopted a new media accreditation procedure that restricts media access to observe and report on the electoral process. The new rules violate the freedom of media editorial policy and may significantly reduce the transparency of the election process.

 

EPDE Publication

Conditions for Citizen Election Observation Ahead of the 2021 Duma Elections

EPDE

Open
Document

Opportunities for independent citizen election observation and civil society space in general have been shrinking steadily in Russia over the past decade. There are no provisions for direct accreditation of citizen observers and legislative changes, such as the laws on foreign agents and 'undesirable foreign organizations', further restrict the space for citizen observation. Read more on the conditions for citizen election observation in Russia ahead of the 2021 Duma Elections in our latest publication.

 
latest