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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
2nd round election day report
Moldova’s presidential election runoff had a high voter engagement. During voting day, certain polling stations abroad ran out of ballots and thus did not allow voters to cast their vote. Organized transportation of voters from Transnistria and intimidation of election observers was also again present during the second round of the election. Promo-LEX’s parallel vote […]
No widespread violations, but need for professionalization of election commissions
SUMMARY OPORA INTERIM REPORT The OPORA civil network will conduct the observation of the runoff mayoral elections that will take place on 22 November, 2020, in Berdiansk, Zaporizhia Oblast; Dnipro; Drohobych, Lviv Oblast; Lviv; Mykolaiv; Nikopol, Dnipropetrovsk Oblast; Poltava; Rivne; Slovyansk, Donetsk Oblast; Uzhhorod; and Cherkasy. Between these eleven Ukrainian cities, four mayoral candidates […]
Increase in black PR and manipulative schemes to gain votes
Polling station in Dnipro, 25.10.2020. Source: rferl.org Briefing summary CVU Chairman Oleksiy Koshel noted that the CVU recorded many cases of black PR on the eve of the second round of elections. “Before the election, we are seeing massive use of black PR. We have the impression that black PR has grown significantly compared […]
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 […]
Concerns over Hungary’s pending electoral code amendment
Hungarian parliament after the vote to extend emergency powers to the government, 10 November 2020. Source: dailynewshungary.com (MTI) Although the second wave of the coronavirus pandemic is in full swing in Hungary, the upcoming 2022 parliamentary elections already loom on the horizon. Just as new corona-restrictions were about to enter into force under the […]
Viasna journalist gets 15 more days in prison
Maryna Kastylianchanka, Viasna member and journalist, has been sentenced to another 15 days of administrative detention, after a mock trial held in the Baranavičy detention facility on Tuesday, November 17. The activist was found guilty of joining a protest allegedly held in Partyzanski Avenue in Minsk on October 25. In reality, protesters never gathered at […]
Presidential election only ‘partially correct and free’
Source: kyivpost.com (AFP) The Civic Coalition for Free and Fair Elections considers the presidential elections of 1 and 15 November 2020 to be partially correct and free. The assessment is based on respect of the principles for free and fair elections set out in international treaties and conventions on civil and political rights and […]