Webinar: Accountability in the European Elections
We kindly invite you to the third webinar of our new project “Supporting Engagement in European Elections and Democratic Societies” (SEEEDS) on 28 March 2023 at 4pm. Elections to the European Parliament (EP) are regulated by the national legislations of all 27 Member States as well as EU-level regulations. When looking at the issue of […]
Excessively long prison sentences for EPDE members following politically motivated trial
On 3 March 2023, the verdict in the trial against our jailed colleagues from Viasna was announced. Nobel Peace Prize laureate Ales Bialiatski, Valiantsin Stefanovich, Uladzimir Labkovich have been sentenced to 10, 9, and 7 years, respectively, for their legitimate human rights activities. The defendants have been held as political prisoners since July 2021. The […]
JOINT PRESS RELEASE: Belarus: Imminent verdict in the trial against Viasna’s leaders
Paris-Geneva, March 2, 2023 – Tomorrow, the Leninsky District Court in Minsk is expected to hand down its verdict in the case of Viasna leaders Ales Bialiatski, Valiantsin Stefanovich and Uladzimir Labkovich. On the eve of the verdict, the signatory organisations reiterate their calls to release the human rights defenders and drop all charges against […]
Law on Foreign Agents in Georgia is an attack against civil society
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 […]
Webinar: Transparency in the European Elections
We kindly invite you to the second webinar of our new project “Supporting Engagement in European Elections and Democratic Societies” (SEEEDS). The webinar “Transparency in European Elections” provides an overview of the state of knowledge on transparency and targeting of political advertising in the European Parliament elections. Particular attention will be given to upcoming regulations […]
Pressemitteilung: Bundestag muss transparenter werden
Der Deutsche Bundestag steht vor einer lange geforderten Reform, die eine weitere Vergrößerung des Parlaments verhindern soll. Der Bundestag hat jedoch nicht nur ein Problem mit der Anzahl der Abgeordneten, er hat auch ein Transparenzproblem. In einer geopolitischen Situation in der autokratische und demokratiefeindliche Staaten in und ausserhalb Europas gezielt Einfluß auf politische und gesellschaftliche […]
Press Release: German Bundestag must become more transparent
(Unofficial translation)In a geopolitical situation, in which autocratic and anti-democratic actors in and outside of Europe specifically seek influence over political and social processes in established European democracies; at a time, when corruption scandals are rocking European parliaments, the German Bundestag must also meet much higher standards when it comes to the transparency of party […]
The majority of Ukrainian immigrants in Poland would like to participate in the next elections – OPORA
Ukrainian EPDE member OPORA conducted a survey among Ukrainian immigrants in Poland. Most participants of in-depth interviews emphasized that after moving to Poland, their positive attitude to Ukraine has not changed or even has grown. Participants were asked to rate their level of commitment on a 10-point scale. The indicator of commitment to Ukraine is […]
Q&A: Changes to the Electoral Code of Poland
In late 2022, a draft law on amendments to the electoral code was introduced in the Polish parliament. This comes at a highly polarized time in the run up to the 2023 Polish parliamentary election. EPDE member Political Accountability Foundation prepared a Q&A with the main aspects foreseen in the draft amendments. Critical aspects include […]
ECHR rules in favour of Election Monitoring and Democracy Studies Centre
On 12 January 2023, the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg (ECHR) adopted a judgement on the case of EPDE’s member Election Monitoring and Democracy Studies Center (EMDS) against the Republic of Azerbaijan. The court ruled that EMDS’ right to freedom of association (Art. 11 European Convention) had been violated by Azerbaijani government, namely […]