Stop the pressure against ISFED!
Statement by ISFED: The International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy (ISFED) would like to respond to the accusations voiced by the Chairman of Georgian Dream party, Irakli Kobakhidze regarding alleged falsification of the Parallel Vote Tabulation (PVT) results that was once again reiterated after an unsuccessful end of the EU-mediated dialogue between the ruling […]
Electoral reform Forum by OPORA
On March, 23 and 24, Civil Network OPORA will hold the two-day forum on “Electoral Reform: Assessment Through the Prism of Values, Political Rights, and Quality of Procedures.” During the event, experts will be discussing the shortcomings of Electoral Code and suggest solutions to issues faced at the 2020 local elections. The proposals could be […]
Early Parliamentary Elections Must Only Be Held Under Reformed Electoral Code
Joint statement by Armenian CSOs, including EPDE members Transparency International Anticorruption Center Armenia and Helsinki Citizens’ Assembly – Vanadzor The need to amend the Electoral Code, which leaves wide loopholes for abuse by whoever is in power, was articulated as a public demand during the 2018 revolution and was restated after the 2018 snap election. The promise […]
By-elections – first month of campaigning
On November 27 and December 22, 2020, the Central Election Commission called the by-elections of people’s deputies in single-member constituencies No.50 (Donetsk oblast) and No.87 (Ivano-Frankivsk oblast), correspondingly. By-elections were called in connection with the victory in regular local elections gained by MP Ruslan Trebushkin, who ran for mayor of Pokrovsk, and MP Zinoviy Andriyovych, […]
Signature collection for electoral candidates during the pandemic: solutions and alternative mechanisms
The collection of signatures is a democratic exercise whereby voters support voluntarily a certain candidate for an elective position or the initiation of a referendum. For a candidate to join an electoral race – the condition to collect signatures represents a filter based on voters’ support. For the initiation of the referendum – it represents […]
Human Rights Situation in Belarus: February 2021
Belsat journalists Katerina Andreyeva and Daria Chultsova sentenced to two years in jail. Source: bbc.com © EPA Summary: in February, the authorities continued to apply criminal prosecution for political reasons. Viasna is aware of at least 102 sentences handed down during the month, with 49 convicts sentenced to terms of imprisonment; there are 258 […]
New law on political parties introduces stricter regulation on party financing
On January 18, 2021, amendments to Armenia’s Law on Political Parties were finally signed by President Armen Sarkissian. The bill makes changes to the way political parties will be regulated and incorporates recommendations by OSCE/ODIHR and the Venice Commission of the Council of Europe. This report follows up on EPDE’s A Long Process Though part […]
Russia election alert #8 – Duma elections 2021
Voter during Russia’s Single Voting Day 2020. Source: ft.com / © AP Russia’s next State Duma elections are scheduled to be held in September. A number of recent developments offer a glimpse of how they may be conducted. The prosecution of Alexei Navalny upon his return to Russia in January as well as the […]
Call for experts on elections in Russia
The European Platform for Democratic Elections (EPDE) seeks international experts to contribute to its publication series concerning elections and election related topics in the Russian Federation. The task of the expert includes to conduct research and provide expertise on election related topics in the Russian Federation with special focus on findings and conclusions of domestic […]
EPDE condemns repressions against independent election observers in Belarus and Russia
Citizen election observers in Belarus and Russia are currently facing increasing repressions by the governments in Minsk and Moscow. In the aftermath of the presidential elections in Belarus, on 16 February 2021 numerous human rights defenders, journalists and citizen election observers have been detained, their properties have been searched, and technical equipment was seized. In […]