Preliminary report on the 23 December Municipal Elections
EMDS’s observation of the municipal elections demonstrates that the elections were held in an environment with severe restriction of political freedoms, lack of equal and authentic opportunities for competition, and widespread violations during voting and vote-counting processes. The elections were marred with the lack of alternative choices and therefore did not adhere to the requirements […]
Preliminary report on the 23 December Municipal Elections
Executive Summary EMDS is a non-partisan non-governmental organization working for holding free and fair elections, as well as the development of civil society and democracy in Azerbaijan. EMDS carried out the long-term observation of the 23 December 2019 Municipal Elections in Azerbaijan covering all stages of the electoral process – nomination of candidates, campaigning, election […]
Ruling Party’s Electoral System Offer Is Unacceptable and Unserious
Statement of EPDE member ISFED and 15 other Georgian civil society organizations assessing the ruling party’s initiative: On December 20, during the fourth meeting between the ruling and the opposition parties on the electoral system, the Chairperson of the Parliament unveiled the ruling party’s offer about changing the electoral system in a way that out […]
Final observation mission report
The major issues found by the Promo-LEX observation mission included: uncertainties as to determining the date of the elections; unequal treatment of independent candidates in relation to those nominated by political parties/ electoral blocs by requiring them to collect signatures; the lack of a clear legal mechanism to prevent “the artificial migration of voters”; the […]
Political Deadlock After Broken Promise on Electoral System Change
To provide an outlook for the upcoming 2020 elections in Georgia, ISFED describes in this policy paper the current political deadlock in the country caused by the ruling party failing to vote for the introduction of a proportional electoral system. ISFED analyzes a potential solution for this deadlock surrounding the electoral system and necessary changes […]
Policy Alert # 1 – Political Deadlock After Broken Promise on Electoral System Change
caucasuswatch.de Georgia’s ruling party’s failure to adopt the promised constitutional amendment on transition to a fully proportional representation for the upcoming 2020 elections has caused a political deadlock in the country. The Georgian Dream (GD) backtracking on their promise has been largely viewed as an attempt to cling to power and maintain unfair advantage […]
Foreign Observation of the Illegitimate Elections in South Ossetia and Abkhazia in 2019
The so-called “Republic of South Ossetia” and “Republic of Abkhazia” are breakaway regions of Georgia that are recognised as independent sovereign states only by five UN Member States: Russia (which supports their de facto independence by military, economic and political means), Nauru, Nicaragua, Syria and Venezuela. Other entities that recognise South Ossetia and Abkhazia […]
Foreign Observation of the Illegitimate Elections in South Ossetia and Abkhazia in 2019
In Anton Shekhovtsov’s newest study, he analyzes how the presence of “foreign observers” during the “parliamentary elections” in the so-called “Republic of South Ossetia” and of the “presidential elections” in the so-called “Republic of Abkhazia” in 2019 was underpinned not by the actual need to observe the “elections”, but rather by the intent to mimic […]
EPDE Policy Alert – Electoral Reform in Ukraine #15
Photo: OPORA EPDE welcomes that the profile committee of Ukraine’s Parliament yesterday held an additional meeting to discuss a set of problematic provisions in the draft Electoral Code. The parliamentary vote on the draft planned for this week has been postponed. Earlier, EPDE members Civic Network OPORA and the Committee of Voters of Ukraine […]
Electoral Reform in Ukraine #15
The parliamentary vote on the draft Electoral Code planned for this week has been postponed. Earlier, EPDE members Civic Network OPORA and the Committee of Voters of Ukraine raised serious concerns about some provisions of the draft and pointed to a number of shortcomings resulting from last minute amendments to the draft. This policy alert […]