Programme 2020
17th European Conference of Electoral Management Bodies
“Electoral law and electoral administration in Europe – Recurrent challenges and best practices”
Online public event, 12-13 November 2020
Thursday, 12 November 2020
14.00-17.45 Strasbourg/Paris time (check your time zone here)
13.30-14.00 – Time allowed to access the Kudo interface
14.00-14.30 – Opening session
Theodoros Livanios, Deputy Minister of Interior of Greece (speech)
Gianni Buquicchio, President of the Venice Commission of the Council of Europe (speech)
14.30-15.00 – Inaugural speech: The recurrent challenges and the best practices in electoral law and electoral administration in Europe
Moderated by Pierre Garrone, Head of the Elections and Political Parties' Division of the Venice Commission
Electoral law and electoral administration in Europe – Overview of the recurrent challenges and best practices – Richard Barrett, member of the Venice Commission, Ireland (see the Report CDL-AD(2020)023) (speech)
15.00-15.30 – Break
15.30-16.15 – First session: The role of EMBs in preventing and responding to recurrent irregularities during campaigns and voting operations
Co-moderated by Pierre Garrone, Head of the Elections and Political Parties' Division of the Venice Commission and Gaël Martin-Micallef, Legal Officer, Elections and Political Parties Division of the Venice Commission
The establishment of an electoral commission in Ireland – Martin Hehir, Assistant Principal, Franchise Unit, Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage of Ireland (no presentation available)
How to prevent and respond to recurrent irregularities during voting operations in Mexico – Lorenzo Córdova Vianello, President of the National Electoral Institute, Mexico (presentation)
How to prevent and respond to recurrent irregularities during campaigns in Mexico – José Luis Vargas Valdez, Chief Justice at the Federal Electoral Tribunal of Mexico (speech)
Discussion
16.15-17.00 – Second session: The role of EMBs to prevent or respond to irregularities or malpractice regarding counting, tabulation and transmission of election results
Moderated by Oliver Kask, Judge, President of the Council for Democratic Elections, Member of the Venice Commission, Estonia
Counting and tabulation procedures: the Belgian project to avoid human mistakes – Régis Trannoy, Head of Elections Unit at the Directorate General Institutions & Population (French, Dutch or German only) of the Federal Public Service Home Affairs of Belgium (no presentation available)
Solutions of the Swedish Election Authority to prevent irregularities with regard to election results and the consequences on trust in elections – Anna Nyqvist, Director of the Election Authority, Sweden (presentation)
Discussion
17.00-17.45 – Third session: Holding elections during emergency situations – Challenges met and solutions found by the EMBs during the pandemic, part I
Moderated by Gaël Martin-Micallef, Legal Officer, Elections and Political Parties Division of the Venice Commission
Under which conditions can elections be held under emergency situations? Reflections issued from 2020 Venice Commission’s reports on the matter (CDL-PI(2020)005rev & CDL-AD(2020)018) – Oliver Kask, Judge, President of the Council for Democratic Elections, Member of the Venice Commission, Estonia (Speech)
Practical implications of holding elections during a pandemic in the context of the Moldovan elections – Corneliu Pasat, Deputy Head of Communication, Public Relations and Media Department, Central Election Commission of the Republic of Moldova (presentation)
Presentation of the Congress Report on “Local and regional elections in major crisis situations” – Stewart Dickson, Member of the Northern Ireland Legislative Assembly, Representative of the Chamber of the Regions, Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe (speech)
Discussion
Friday, 13 November 2020
14.00-17.00 Strasbourg/Paris time (check your time zone here)
14.00-16.00 – Fourth session: Holding elections during emergency situations – Challenges met and solutions found by the EMBs during the pandemic, part II
Moderated by Stewart Dickson, Member of the Northern Ireland Legislative Assembly, Representative of the Chamber of the Regions, Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe
Practical implications of organising and holding elections during the COVID-19 pandemic in Montenegro – Aleksa Ivanović, Chairman of the State Election Commission of Montenegro (speech)
IFES Covid-related responses in the elections in Serbia, North Macedonia, Kyrgyzstan, Ukraine and Georgia – Beata Martin-Rozumiłowicz, Regional Director for Europe and Eurasia at the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES) (presentation)
International electoral standards pertaining to alternative voting methods – Alexander Shlyk, Head of Election Department of the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human rights of the OSCE (OSCE/ODIHR) (presentation)
Discussion
16.00-16.30 – Break
16.30-17.00 – Closing session: Discussion on and adoption of the conclusions of the 17th European Conference of Electoral Management Bodies
Moderated by Simona Granata-Menghini, Acting Director, Secretary of the Venice Commission (a.i.) of the Council of Europe
Draft conclusions of the Conference presented by Rasto Kuzel, General Rapporteur of the Conference, Executive Director at MEMO 98, Slovak Republic
Discussion and adoption