Update
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The mandate of the previous REM Council expired on 4 November 2024. The process to select a new Council had already been delayed - the public call for nominations, which should have been issued by 4 August 2024, was not published until 25 November 2024. On the same day, a new REM Statute was adopted containing provisions that classified almost all of the institution's work as a trade secret.
The nomination period closed on 16 December 2024. Of 34 candidates put forward, 17 did not meet the legal criteria. Of 121 nominating organizations, 32 failed to meet legal requirements. Procedural irregularities were recorded in 8 of the 9 nomination groups, including credible reports of political pressure on nominators. On the final day of the nomination period, the Ministry of Information issued a legal interpretation - with no time for practical application - stating that former REM Council members could be re-elected, a reading widely assessed as legally unfounded and designed to benefit politically connected candidates.
At its session on 30 December 2024, the Committee on Culture and Information rejected all proposals to address these irregularities, including objections raised by nominators and opposition MPs. Coordination meetings between nominators took place on 20 January 2025, followed by candidate interviews. The parliamentary session at which the final vote was expected did not produce a Council. The process collapsed without a single member being selected.
The nomination period closed on 16 December 2024. Of 34 candidates put forward, 17 did not meet the legal criteria. Of 121 nominating organizations, 32 failed to meet legal requirements. Procedural irregularities were recorded in 8 of the 9 nomination groups, including credible reports of political pressure on nominators. On the final day of the nomination period, the Ministry of Information issued a legal interpretation - with no time for practical application - stating that former REM Council members could be re-elected, a reading widely assessed as legally unfounded and designed to benefit politically connected candidates.
At its session on 30 December 2024, the Committee on Culture and Information rejected all proposals to address these irregularities, including objections raised by nominators and opposition MPs. Coordination meetings between nominators took place on 20 January 2025, followed by candidate interviews. The parliamentary session at which the final vote was expected did not produce a Council. The process collapsed without a single member being selected.
