news

2016

Georgia

The parliamentary elections held in Georgia on 8 October 2016, with repeat voting in a few precincts on 22 October and a second round of voting in a number of single-candidate constituencies on 30 October, were generally in line with international standards. 

Russia

Lilia Shibanova, the founder of the Russian election observation network "Association GOLOS" and a board member of EPDE is currently being prevented from leaving the Russian Federation. 

USA

The U.S. and the whole world is in shock after the unexpected results of the U.S. presidential election. Once again, like in 2000, the candidate who won the popular vote lost the election as a whole after securing only a minority of the electoral college. 

Georgia

On 30 October Georgia holds the second round of the parliamentary elections. 20 EPDE observers from eight countries are deployed around the country to observe the election process.

Georgia

Ukraine

The internationally unrecognized “Donetsk People’s Republic” and “Luhansk People’s Republics” (“DPR”/”LPR”) held so-called “primaries” on October 2, 2016. 

Georgia

EPDE together with its partner organisation Norwegian Helsinki Committee are observing the parliamentary elections in Georgia. 40 observers from 13 domestic citizen election observation organisations from eight countries will participate.

Azerbaijan

On September 26, 2016 Azerbaijan held a hastily called, and controversial, referendum. EPDE has monitored the conduct of international election observer missions.

Georgia

As the electoral campaign moved into an active phase, violations of the electoral legislation became frequent. ISFED detected the following incidents during the reporting period: 3 cases of alleged political dismissals; 11 cases of intimidation; 12 cases of abuse of administrative resources...

Azerbaijan

Due to shortcomings in situation of democracy and political freedoms prior to and during the Referendum, including the voting day, the Referendum failed to meet requirements of election legislation and international commitments.

Russia

At least four times in the modern history of Russian elections, vote counting fraud, as estimated statistically, had significant consequences for the political development. 

Georgia

During the reporting period a special electoral regime came into effect. In particular, the prohibition to amend budgets and increase the amount of unplanned welfare benefits became effective, special media regulations started to apply, and the staffing of precinct election commissions (PECs) by district level commissions (DECs) was completed.

Ukraine

Russia

Considering that, regardless of this year’s reduced coverage of polling stations by independent observers, there were still reports of individual acts of ballot box stuffing, “carousel voting,” voting under pressure, and other irregularities.

Russia

Russia

The election campaign of 2016 showed that violations in election campaigning stem from the most diverse political forces and election participants.

Belarus

Belarus

The conditions for campaigning were improved as compared to the previous elections. However, the candidates were not provided with equal rights; pro-government candidates enjoyed better conditions for campaigning...

Azerbaijan

Оn 26 September 2016 Azerbaijan will hold a referendum which proposes to amend 29 articles of the Constitution.

Russia

On Friday, August 26th - three weeks ahead of the elections to the State Duma - the Russian government-controlled TV channel NTV broadcasted a documentary "The Secret of Golos". 

Russia

Belarus

Moldova

On 25-30 July 2016 the first Capacity Building Camp of the EPDE took place in Moldova. Over 100 election observers, experts and volunteers from 13 EPDE member organizations participated in the event. 

Ukraine

Belarus

During the preparations for the parliamentary elections scheduled on 11 September 2016, Belarussian authorities ignored most of the recommendations made by citizens' observers.

Armenia

Russia

Lilia Shibanova, EPDE board member and founder of the Russian election observation network GOLOS was arrested by Belarusian boarder control at the Lithuanian-Belarusian border in the evening of May 12, 2016.

Armenia

Russia

Moldova

Russia

Ahead of Russian Duma Election 2016 the organisations Golos, IESC, EPDE and Silc are together launching a new initiative -presenting the results of their long-term election monitoring in Russia on the international level. 

Georgia

The trainings aims were to strengthen the capacities of the EPDE member organizations in the work with volunteers and to maintain security standards in the area of internet communication. 

Russia

According to the new amendment, domestic observers are not able to conduct observation at several polling stations on the voting day but can be deployed only to one particular polling station.

Georgia

Between 21 and 24 March 2016, around 40 EPDE observers will take part in two training sessions, which will focus on the volunteer networking and the internet data security.

Ukraine

Civic Network Opora and the Committee of Voters of Ukraine together with the international EPDE experts published four analysis on the conditions for democratic elections in Ukraine. 

Armenia

Citizen’s election observers urge the Armenian authorities to safeguard transparency of the process of drafting the new election law and to include all relevant experts, representatives of the civil society and the political parties in the process. 

Azerbaijan

On 17 March, Anar Mammadli, EPDE board member and the Director of the Election Monitoring and Democracy Studies Center (EMDS), based in Baku, Azerbaijan, was pardoned by the president Aliev along with a number of high profile political prisoners. 

Belarus

In a proposal presented to the Central Election Commission of Belarus, the Human Rights Defenders for Free Elections  suggest steps to implement the recommendations.

SLOVAKIA

From 1 till 7 March 2016, 50 EPDE monitors from Poland, Russia, Azerbaijan, Germany, Lithuania, Sweden and Ukraine  observed the last stage of the parliamentary elections in Slovakia scheduled on 5 March 2016.

SLOVAKIA

EPDE sends monitors to observe the parliamentary elections in Slovakia scheduled on 5 March 2016. The group is made up of 45 observers from Golos, European Exchange, IESC, SILC.

Armenia

The constitutional referendum of December 6, 2015, did not comply with the norms prescribed in the Code of Good Practice on Referendums of the Council of Europe’s Venice Commission. The official results are largely forced and falsified.