Of particular importance are the priority recommendations, of which there are 7 in total. It has been determined that 4 priority recommendations are unfulfilled. These are recommendations relating to the preconditions for ensuring electoral integrity, specifically:
13
Unfulfilled
6
Partially fulfilled
6
Not evaluated
25
Total
Status:
Priority:
Regarding the priority recommendation on the voter register, amendments to the Law on the Unified Voter Register have been made and a Commission established; however, these measures have not yet led to substantive fulfilment of the recommendation. On the other hand, no amendments to the Law on Financing Political Activities and the Law on Prevention of Corruption have been made or proposed, which is why 4 recommendations relating to the electoral campaign and campaign finance cannot be fulfilled.
It is important to note that the proposed amendments to electoral legislation are not suited to address the core problem identified by ODIHR regarding intimidation and pressure on voters. In addition, the regulatory amendments required by the Reform Agenda are being pursued without an inclusive consultative process, in a year in which early parliamentary elections have been announced.
CRTA considers that no ODIHR recommendation is currently fully fulfilled, primarily because fulfilment of the majority of recommendations requires different conduct by competent authorities and relevant actors, rather than normative changes.
The draft laws on parliamentary and local elections seek to address only 4 recommendations. Only one priority recommendation has been addressed - one already assessed as partially fulfilled - relating to the introduction of standardised mandatory training for all members and prospective members of local election commissions and polling boards, including their extended compositions. In this regard, CRTA considers that the proposed legislative solution has a shortcoming, as it does not require the mandatory obtaining of a licence to work in election administration, but only the completion of training, and does not prescribe mandatory in-person training. The Republic Electoral Commission is left to regulate the manner of conducting training, as well as all other details, by instruction.
Furthermore, the draft laws envisage a highly problematic provision under which a voter has the right to sign in support of more than one candidate list, which could lead to significant abuses during the candidate registration phase and could result in the creation of artificial majorities in election commissions.
It can be concluded that the proposed amendments to electoral legislation do not represent the necessary systemic and substantive response to ODIHR's findings and recommendations, but rather a partial and limited approach that fails to resolve the key problems identified in the 2023 elections.
It is important to note that the proposed amendments to electoral legislation are not suited to address the core problem identified by ODIHR regarding intimidation and pressure on voters. In addition, the regulatory amendments required by the Reform Agenda are being pursued without an inclusive consultative process, in a year in which early parliamentary elections have been announced.
It is important to note that the proposed amendments to electoral legislation are not suited to address the core problem identified by ODIHR regarding intimidation and pressure on voters.
CRTA considers that no ODIHR recommendation is currently fully fulfilled, primarily because fulfilment of the majority of recommendations requires different conduct by competent authorities and relevant actors, rather than normative changes.
The draft laws on parliamentary and local elections seek to address only 4 recommendations. Only one priority recommendation has been addressed - one already assessed as partially fulfilled - relating to the introduction of standardised mandatory training for all members and prospective members of local election commissions and polling boards, including their extended compositions. In this regard, CRTA considers that the proposed legislative solution has a shortcoming, as it does not require the mandatory obtaining of a licence to work in election administration, but only the completion of training, and does not prescribe mandatory in-person training. The Republic Electoral Commission is left to regulate the manner of conducting training, as well as all other details, by instruction.
Furthermore, the draft laws envisage a highly problematic provision under which a voter has the right to sign in support of more than one candidate list, which could lead to significant abuses during the candidate registration phase and could result in the creation of artificial majorities in election commissions.
It can be concluded that the proposed amendments to electoral legislation do not represent the necessary systemic and substantive response to ODIHR's findings and recommendations, but rather a partial and limited approach that fails to resolve the key problems identified in the 2023 elections.
