International experts’ endorsed controversial all-Russian voting on constitutional amendments
French far-right MEP Julie Lechanteux giving an interview to the Russian TV, with Johan Bäckman in the background. Source: Twitter account Lechanteux The “all-Russian voting” on President Putin’s proposed constitutional amendments, which would allow him to stay in power until 2036, was held between 25 June and 1 Jul 2020. Since the “all-Russian voting” […]
Money and politics – need for new rules of the game
In recent years, election experts observed significant increase of spending on election campaigns. The transparency of party and campaign financing became one of the key requirements to ensure the integrity of today’s election processes. Along with elections in Austria, Italy, Israel and Japan, election campaign expenditures are rising particularly sharply in the USA. In the […]
Joint Statement On Restoring Political Party Reporting Deadlines
Photo: ifesukraine.org Background: On April 2, 2020, a range of legal changes titled, “On Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts of Ukraine Aimed at Providing Additional Social and Economic Guarantees in Connection with the Spread of Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19)” came into force. These amendments included changes to Ukraine’s Political Party Law which deferred political parties’ […]
Human Rights Situation in November 2020
People demonstrate during the March of Neighbors on November 29 in Minsk. Photo: belsat.eu Summary: During the month, the authorities continued to actively prosecute citizens for political reasons. There are 146 political prisoners held in prisons, as their number continues to increase. A total of over 900 individuals have been targeted by criminal cases […]
Chernivtsi mayoral runoff – no critical disruptions in election administration
On 29 November 2020, the second round of mayoral election was held in Chernivtsi. The vote took place at 115 polling stations, with approximately 185.5 thousand voters included in voter lists. Candidate Roman Klichuk (The Only Alternative party cell) competed with Vitalii Mykhailishyn (The Mykhailishyn Team party cell). OPORA has realized long-term and short-term […]
380 detained on Day 106 of post-election protests
At least 379 protesters were detained on Sunday in Minsk and other cities of Belarus, according to Viasna’s database. Only a few were released, while most are expected to stand administrative trials in the coming days. At least 13 detained protesters were taken to hospitals after they were beaten by riot police and other security […]
Parliamentary election a step backwards in terms of democratic elections
Preliminary Central Election Commission results showed Georgian Dream dominating in all 17 districts. Source: rferl.org International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy (ISFED) was monitoring parliamentary election runoffs in 17 majoritarian districts through 35 mobile teams. At the second round of the elections, held without any real competition, coordinators mobilized outside election precincts continued […]
Highly competitive runoff elections with deliberate disinformation and smear campaigns
OPORA STATEMENT PRELIMINARY FINDINGS FOLLOWING OBSERVATION OF RUNOFF CITY MAYOR ELECTIONS HELD ON 22 NOVEMBER, 2020 On 22 November, runoff mayoral elections took place in Berdiansk, Zaporizhia Oblas; Dnipro; Drohobych, Lviv Oblast; Lviv; Mykolaiv; Nikopol, Dnipropetrovsk Oblast; Poltava; Rivne; Slovyansk, Donetsk Oblast; Uzhhorod; and Cherkasy. OPORA observers conducted long-term and short-term observations of the elections focusing […]
Half of the elections marked by voter bribery schemes and incidents of this increased significantly
Local election commission count votes in Boyarka, Kyiv Oblast, 25.10.2020, Source: kyivpost.com (Kostyantyn Chernichkin) Briefing summary According to the Committee of Voters of Ukraine (CVU), the second round of mayoral elections on November 22 was mostly held in accordance with international standards of fair and free elections, but in five cities, there was […]
Second round taking place amid a political crisis
Rally in Tbilisi calling for a snap election, 15.11.2020. Source: europost.eu International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy (ISFED) will monitor the second round of the 2020 Parliamentary Elections of Georgia to be held on November 21 in 17 majoritarian districts through 35 mobile groups. In view of the non-competitive election environment and dramatic […]