Statement on serious restrictions in the Draft Electoral Code of the Republic of Armenia
STATEMENT on the restrictions of the activities of local observers and mass media representatives in the Draft Electoral Code of the Republic of Armenia The Draft Electoral Code of the Republic of Armenia was adopted by the National Assembly of Armenia in its third reading on May 25, 2016. Unfortunately, neither the proposals submitted […]
Lilia Shibanova, Russian Election Observer Arrested in Belarus
Foto: dw.de Lilia Shibanova, EPDE board member and founder of the Russian election observation network GOLOS was arrested by Belarusian boarder control at the Lithuanian-Belarusian border in the evening of May 12, 2016 and was forced to leave the train directing to Moscow. Lilia Shibanova who is also a member of the Presidential Human […]
Armenia: Civic Observers’ Opinion on the Draft Electoral Law
10 May, 2016 OPINION On the compliance of the provisions of Draft Electoral Code of the Republic of Armenia with international standards According to the Amendments to the Constitution of the Republic of Armenia adopted on 6 December 2015, new Electoral Code is planned to be adopted by 1 June 2016.[1] […]
Pro-governmental United Russia candidates illegally financed by EU-based companies
On the invitation of MEPs Heidi Hautala and Rebecca Harms of the Green faction in the European Parliament, Golos experts presented their first conclusions on the preparations of the parliamentary campaign in Russia. According to the Golos’ expert Stanislav Andreychuk, campaigning of several candidates supported by the ruling United Russia party during the regular […]
The Statement of civil society organizations on the procedure for nominating and selecting candidates for membership of the Central Election Commission
The civil society organizations state the delayed publishing, on the official web page of the Parliament, of the list of the candidates for the membership of the Central Electoral Commission(CEC), appointed by the parliamentary majority and the opposition. In this context, the signatory organizations draw attention on the fact that the mandate of the members […]
Invitation to the Round Table “Russian Duma Election 2016: Insights for Action”
Hosted by MEP Heidi Hautala (Greens/EFA) and MEP Rebecca Harms (Greens/EFA) R.S.V.P. by 5 April: amanda.lovkvist@silc.se Ahead of Russian Duma Election 2016 the organisations Golos, IESC, EPDE and Silc are together launching a new initiative -presenting the results of their long-term election monitoring in Russia on the international level. They aim at presenting as widely […]
Training for EPDE observers in Tbilisi
From 21-24 March two EPDE trainings for more than 40 observers from seven countries have taken place in Tbilisi, Georgia. The trainings aims were to strengthen the capacities of the EPDE member organizations in the work with volunteers and to maintain security standards in the area of internet communication. The trainings were organized by […]
Further restrictions against citizens’ election observation in Russia
In the run-up to the parliamentary elections in Russia which are to be held in mid-September 2016, the government controlled parliament introduced new amendments to the election related legislation which further limits the rights of citizens’ observers to freely monitor the voting process. According to the new amendment, domestic observers are not able to conduct […]
Belarus: HRDFE offers support to the CEC on the implementation of the OSCE/ODIHR recommendations
In a proposal presented to the Central Election Commission of Belarus (CEC), the Human Rights Defenders for Free Elections (HRDFE), an initiative of the EPDE members Belarusian Helsinki Committee and the Human Rights Center Viasna, suggest a number of steps to implement the recommendations of the OSCE/ODIHR to ensure democratic conduct of the future elections […]
Anar Mammadli pardoned after almost 2,5 years in prison
On 17 March 2016, Anar Mammadli, EPDE board member and the Director of the Election Monitoring and Democracy Studies Center (EMDS), based in Baku, Azerbaijan, was pardoned by the president Aliev along with a number of high profile political prisoners. Mammadli was imprisoned on 16 December 2013 following EMDS critical report documenting massiv fraud during […]