Ongoing harassment against independent election observation
On September 29, the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation added 20 election experts of the Movement for the Protection of the Voters Rights “Golos” to the “register of foreign mass media performing the functions of a foreign agent”. Qualifying Golos observers as “foreign agents” at a time when every day more falsifications of […]
Discussion Summary – Assessment of the Pre-Election Environment
Tbilisi, Georgia 14 November 2020 Protest on Bidzina Ivanizhili Calls for Fair Elections on Rostavel i Street, Georgia. Photo: samurkas. The International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy, the Black Sea Trust for Regional Cooperation hosted a roundtable discussion to assess the pre-election environment in Georgia a few days prior to polling day, scheduled […]
Bogus International Monitors for the Bogus Russian Parliamentary Elections
Press briefing with group of French politicians, including MEP Thierry Mariani pictured here, invited to “monitor” the State Duma elections in Saint Petersburg, 19.09.2021. Source: politexpert.net – Evgeniy Zaytsev. With the gradual systemic decline of the democratic character of Russian presidential, parliamentary, and other elections, Vladimir Putin’s regime found it increasingly difficult to secure […]
Discussion Summary – Electoral Discourse Ahead of Georgia’s Local Elections
The International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy, the Black Sea Trust for Regional Cooperation hosted a public discussion during which experts discussed the politically polarized environment, media landscape, and electoral discourse during the election campaign to the 2 October local elections. The local elections have an outsized significance with the opposition campaigning on this […]
Second interim report local elections
On September 23 the International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy (ISFED) presented the second interim report of monitoring of official pre-election campaign. The report covers the period from 31 August up to 21 September, as well as a few separate events that either began before 31 August and carried over into the reporting period, […]
EPDE calls on the international community to support Belarusian Helsinki Committee
Peaceful demonstration in Minsk, 16 August 2020. Source: Yulia Khvoshch / Mostphotos The Belarusian Helsinki Committee (BHC), a founding member of the European Platform for Democratic Elections (EPDE), is another Belarusian human rights organization threatened with a liquidation lawsuit filed by the Ministry of Justice. The lawsuit is part of a broad campaign by […]
CEC of Georgia to reconsider accreditation of Belarusian CEC members as election observers
We, the International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy (ISFED) and European Platform for Democratic Elections (EPDE) are concerned about the decision of the Central Election Commission of Georgia to register Galina Mkrtchyan and Olesya Urbanovich, representatives of the Central Election Commission of the Republic of Belarus, as international observers for the upcoming local elections […]
#FreeViasna – we demand the release of Viasna members on first anniversary of crackdown
On the first anniversary of the unprecedented crackdown on the Human Rights Center Viasna (“Viasna”) in Belarus, 23 international and Belarusian human rights organizations are launching a campaign to demand the release of seven detained Viasna members, and highlight the plight of hundreds of others, who have been prosecuted and jailed solely for exercising their […]
Discussion Summary – Election Campaign Amid the Pandemic
Leader of the OSCE election mission Elona Gjebrea Hoxha observing in a polling station in Tbilisi, Georgia in October 2020. (OSCE Parliamentary Assembly/CC BY-SA 2.0) The International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy, the Black Sea Trust for Regional Cooperation hosted a roundtable discussion concerning the organization of elections and election campaigning during the […]
Georgian electoral authorities to reconsider decision to invite Belarusian CEC to observe local elections
Lidziya Yarmoshyna, chairperson of the Central Election Commission of Belarus. Source: Human Rights Defenders for Free Elections Statement by the “Human Rights Defenders for Free Elections” September 9, 2021 We, representatives of the campaign “Human Rights Defenders for Free Elections”, were extremely surprised and disappointed by the decision of the Central Election Commission of […]