Ulvi Akhundlu, Deputy Head of the Election Department, ODIHR
Since January 2020, Ulvi Akhundlu has served as the Deputy Head of the Election Department at OSCE/ODIHR. His work focuses on assisting OSCE participating States in upholding democratic standards through election observation missions and technical assistance.  He also oversees the administration, operational planning, and implementation of election-related initiatives.
 
Previously, Akhundlu served as an Election Adviser at ODIHR and as Head of the Council of Europe Office in Chisinau, Moldova, where he worked to strengthen democracy, human rights, and the rule of law. Earlier in his career, he held key roles in media and political advising, including heading the media monitoring unit and serving as press attaché at the Council of Europe’s Directorate of Communication in Strasbourg, as well as working as a political and media adviser at the OSCE Office in Baku. 
 
He has also contributed to civil society initiatives, directing information and outreach programmes at a U.S.-based NGO supporting grassroots democracy efforts in Azerbaijan. Akhundlu studied international relations, democracy development, human rights, and project management in Germany, Italy, and the United States, and taught at Syracuse University’s Strasbourg branch from 2008 to 2010.

Lord David Blencathra, Chair of the Parliamentary Alliance for Free and Fair Elections and Member of the British Delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe
Website of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe

Damien Cottier, Rapporteur of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe on “Elections in times of crisis", Member of the Swiss Delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly
Damien Cottier (49) is a National Councillor in the Swiss Parliament and a Member of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE).

Since 2019, Damien Cottier has been a member of the National Council, one of the two chambers of the Swiss Parliament, where he was re-elected in October 2023. Since the beginning of 2022 he has been President of the Liberal-Radical parliamentary group (PLR, center-right - 39 members). In this capacity he is a member of the Bureau of the National Council. In the past, he was a member of the Grand Conseil (cantonal parliament) of the Republic and Canton of Neuchâtel for more than 10 years, as well as a member of two communal parliaments, one of which he chaired (Le Landeron, NE, 1998).

Mr Cottier has represented Switzerland in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) since January 2020. During the period 2022-2024, he chaired both the Swiss delegation in Strasbourg and the Assembly's Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights (AS JUR). In this capacity, he was a member of the PACE Bureau and Standing Committee. He is currently Chairman of the Sub-Committee on Artificial Intelligence and Human Rights and co-rapporteur on Ukraine for the Monitoring Committee.
Mr Cottier spent eight years as chief of staff and personal assistant to former Federal Councillor Didier Burkhalter, who was Federal Minister of the Interior from 2009 to 2011 and then Minister of Foreign Affairs from the beginning of 2012 to the end of 2017. In 2014, he assisted Mr Burkhalter when he was simultaneously President of the Swiss Confederation and Chairman-in-Office of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). 

From 2018 to 2020, Mr Cottier held diplomatic posts at the Permanent Mission of Switzerland to the United Nations in Geneva. In the past, he has also worked for the Swiss Business Federation (economiesuisse), the Swiss and Neuchâtel Liberal-Radical Party and the Swiss Consulate General in New York. 

Mr Cottier chairs the Swiss-US Parliamentary Association, the Neuchâtel-Berlin Association and he sits on the Board of the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom (Switzerland) in Geneva.
His other economic and associative activities include: President of the Union neuchâtelois des arts et métiers (UNAM), President of VignobleSuisse (Swiss winegrowers' federation), President of the OuestRail association for the promotion of railways in Western Switzerland, Vice-President of the Neuchâtel public transport company (TransN).

Alberto Dalla Via, Vice-President of the National Electoral Chamber of Argentina
Alberto Ricardo Dalla Via Lawyer, University of Buenos Aires (UBA), is Doctor in Constitutional Law (Faculty of Law, UBA) and Doctor in Political Science (Faculty of Social Sciences, UBA). Diploma in Constitutional Law and Political Science at the Center for Constitutional Studies in Madrid; in Human Rights at the Complutense University and at the Society of International Studies of Spain. Vice President of the National Electoral Court. Full Professor of Constitutional Law at the Faculty of Law of the University of Buenos Aires. Director of the Doctorate Commission and Master in Magistracy of the Faculty of Law of the University of Buenos Aires. President of the National Academy of Moral and Political Sciences. Full Member of the National Academy of Law and Social Sciences of Buenos Aires. Corresponding member of the Royal Academy of Moral and Political Sciences of Spain. Honorary Director of the Institute of Political and Constitutional Science of the Argentine Scientific Society. Titular Counselor of the Argentine Council for International Relations (CARI).

He has received the United Provinces Award, National Academy of Law and Social Sciences of Córdoba 2018; Konex Award 2008, in the category Judges of the last decade and Konex Award 2016 in Constitutional Law; Second prize to the National Academy of Law and Social Sciences of Buenos Aires 2002 and Annual Prize University of Belgrano 2003. Author of more than twenty books and more than two hundred articles published on Constitutional Law and Political Science.

Srdjan Darmanović, Vice-President of the Council for Democratic Elections and Member of the Venice Commission in respect of Montenegro

 

Speech

 Srđan Darmanović, who is Professor of Comparative Politics at the University of Montenegro, former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Montenegro (2016-2020) and Ambassador of Montenegro to the USA (2010-2016), is a Member of the Venice Commission and Vice-president of its Council for Democratic Elections. 

He was the founder and the first dean of the Faculty of Political Science, University of Montenegro (2003-2010) and is also the founder, former President and member of the Board of the Centre for Democracy and Human Rights (CEDEM) (2005 to present).

He is the author or co-author of several books on politics and political science and an author in prominent international magazines for political science and international affairs. Srđan is a guest lecturer in several universities or institutes, including: Georgetown University, John Hopkins University/SAIS, US Foreign Service Institute (Washington DC, USA); Colby University (Maine, USA) University of Hamburg (Germany); and La Sapienzza University, Rome (Italy), and was also the Reagan-Fascell Fellow at National Endowment for Democracy, Washington (2023).

Kseniya Dashutsina, Senior Election Adviser, ODIHR
Kseniya Dashutsina serves as a Senior Election Advisor at ODIHR, where she specializes in various thematic areas, including electoral dispute resolution, campaign finance, and gender issues. Kseniya has commenced her work with ODIHR as Election Advisor and a desk officer responsible for a portfolio of countries, including Bulgaria, Cyprus, Georgia, Hungary, Russian Federation, Romania, Serbia, Sweden and Uzbekistan.

Prior to her role at ODIHR Headquarters, Kseniya contributed to multiple election observation missions for ODIHR, the Carter Center, and the National Democratic Institute, working as a Legal Analyst in numerous countries across the OSCE region and Africa.

Stewart Dickson, President of the Council for Democratic Elections, Spokesperson of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities for local and regional elections
Stewart Dickson MLA is a Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly since 2011 
Stewart represents the constituency of East Antrim; he is Deputy Chair of the Assembly Executive Office Committee and a member of the Standards and Privileges Committee. 

Stewart is a member of the Alliance Party.

A member of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities representing the United Kingdom from 2011 he has undertaken over 20 election observation missions for Congress.  Stewart is the Thematic Spokesperson on Elections for Congress, he is President of the Liberal and Independent Group of Congress members and he is a Congress Bureau Member. 

Stewart currently chairs the Council for Democratic Elections.

Simona Granata-Menghini, Director, Secretary of the Venice Commission
Simona Granata-Menghini is the Director/Secretary of the European Commission for Democracy through Law. She was previously Deputy Secretary (2010-2021).

Simona started her career at the Council of Europe in 1994 as a legal officer at the European Commission of Human Rights of the Council of Europe. From 1997 to 1999, she was Senior Deputy Human Rights Ombudsperson in Bosnia and Herzegovina, in Sarajevo and Banja Luka. From 1999 to 2000, she was a case lawyer at the Registry of the European Court of Human Rights. She joined the Venice Commission in 2001 as Head of the Constitutional Cooperation Division.

Countries on which she has worked include Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belgium, Bosnia-Herzegovina, France, Georgia, Egypt, Hungary, Haiti, Italy, Kyrgyzstan, Republic of Moldova, Morocco, the Netherlands, Poland, the Russian Federation, Spain, Tunisia, Türkiye, Ukraine and Venezuela. Topics include constitutional and legislative reforms relating to the separation of powers, rule of law, independence of the judiciary, judicial codes, protection of minorities, freedom of expression, assembly, association, non-discrimination, political party regulation, ombudsman institutions, ratification of international treaties, execution of judgements of international courts, electoral law, states of emergency, oversight of security services, parliamentary immunity, constitutional justice
She is the author of numerous publications on the case law of the European Court of Human Rights and on the work and role of the Venice Commission.

Simona holds a degree in Law from the University of Milan, Italy, and further diplomas in comparative law (1992, 1993, 1994) from the Faculté de Droit Comparé in Strasbourg. She qualified as member of the bar in 1995.

Irena Hadžiabdić, President of the Central Election Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina

 

Presentation

Irena Hadžiabdić is currently serving as the President of the Central Election Commission (CEC) of Bosnia and Herzegovina, a position she had already served twice (2010-2011 and 2017-2018). She graduated from the Belgrade Faculty of Law and holds a Ph.D. in Law.

She has been working in the field of election management for the past 28 years, with the OSCE, IFES BiH, etc.  She has been member of the CEC since 2007. 

In 2013, she received an International Electoral Award for outstanding achievements in election management. In May of 2019 she was named “person of the year” for public administration in BIH. She is a recipient of the annual Joe C. Baxter award for exceptional dedication to every segment of electoral process, transparency of electoral process and improvement of electoral process of the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES).​

Gunn Marit Helgesen, Vice-President of the Chamber of Regions of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe and Chair of the Norwegian Association of Local and Regional Authorities
Gunn Marit Helgesen (born 30 October 1958) served as President of the Norwegian Association of Local and Regional Authorities (KS) from 2012 to 2020. From 2020 to 2021 she held the position as KS’ First Deputy President and spokesperson on international affairs. Members elected her again president of KS in 2021.
Ms Helgesen is a chemical engineer and has worked as Senior Engineer in Statoil and Norsk Hydro. She chaired Telemark County Council from 2003 to 2011, after previously serving two periods as ViceChair of the council. Today she is member of Vestfold og Telemark County Council and holds the position as the Conservative Party’s group leader. Earlier Ms Helgesen was a local councilor in her hometown Porsgrunn and met as substitute member of Parliament from Telemark constituency.

Gunn Marit Helgesen is since 2012 a delegate to the Council of Europe’s Congress of Local and Regional Authorities heading the Norwegian delegation. She has served as Vice-President of the
Congress. From 2018 to 2021 she held the position of President of the Chamber of Regions. She is currently Congress’ rapporteur on localization of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Moreover, she has been rapporteur in monitoring of implementation of the European Charter of Local Self-Government in Moldova, Ukraine, Cyprus, and Armenia and observed local and regional elections in Albania, Denmark, the Netherlands, Armenia, and Morocco.

Ms Helgesen was elected President of Council of European Municipalities and Regions (CEMR) in December 2022 after having served as Vice-President of since 2013, and Co-President from
2016. She represents Norway in UCLG’s World Council and its Executive Bureau.
Ms Helgesen is since 2000 First Vice-President of the Conference of Peripheral and Maritime Regions (CPMR) and was President of the North Sea Commission 2004 – 2012.​

Eirik Holmøyvik, Member of the Venice Commission in respect of Norway
Eirik Holmøyvik is a member of the Bureau of the Venice Commission and its member in respect of Norway.

He is a professor of law at the University of Bergen, and since 2024 a member of the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters.

From 2017 to 2020, he served as a member of the independent commission drafting a new electoral law for Norway, adopted in 2023. The law introduced a new appeals and complaints system as well as rules for holding elections in times of emergency. He has served as an expert for several Government and Parliament inquiries on constitutional law topics, and has published numerous academic books and journal articles on issues such as electoral law, separation of powers, judicial independence, constitutional emergencies, constitutional interpretation, and constitutional history.

Oliver Kask, Substitute Member of the Venice Commission in respect of Estonia
Oliver Kask is Substitute Member of the Venice Commission since 2021 and was a member of that commission in 2005-2021, and the Chairperson of the Council for Democratic Elections in 2017-2022, which contributes to the work of the Venice Commission of the Council of Europe in the electoral field, including organizing seminars and conferences, assessing electoral legislation and assisting PACE international election observation missions.

He is a judge of the Supreme Court of Estonia since 2024.

He was the Chairperson of Estonian National Election Commission in 2020-2024, which supervises the work of election managers and ascertains the voting and election results.

In 2004-2024, he was a judge in Tallinn Appeal Court and in 2019-2024 Chairperson of its administrative chamber. Before, he worked in the Ministry of Justice, drafting legislation in constitutional and administrative law. In 2017-2022, he was an alternate member of the Management Board of the Fundamental Rights Agency of the EU and in 2011-2024 of the Judicial Training Council in Estonia.
He has given lectures on introduction to law in Tartu University, where he graduated, and constitutional law and human rights in Tallinn University. He has published articles on constitutional and administrative law.

Martin Kuijer, Vice-President and Member of the Venice Commission in respect of the Netherlands
Martin Kuijer is Vice-President of the Venice Commission and its member in respect of The Netherlands. He has served as a Justice of the Supreme Court of the Netherlands and a Member of the Permanent Court of Arbitration since 2020. He worked at the Netherlands Ministry of Justice and Security (2003-2019) as the head of the human rights department and as the chief Legal Adviser of the ministry.

Between 2004 and 2019 he was a professor of human rights law at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam.

Nerijus Maliukevičius, researcher at the Institute of International Relations and Political Science of Vilnius University
Nerijus Maliukevičius is a leading Lithuanian expert on propaganda and Information Warfare, strategic communication and crisis management as well as Russian studies. He is the author of two books about Russian information warfare strategies. His research focuses on tackling disinformation challenges, enhancing media literacy competencies and building societal resilience to malign information threats. His recent projects and grants include: "Propaganda and disinformation research: machine learning-based automatic recognition, impact and societal resilience" (Lithuanian Council of Science, Vilnius, 2023-2026); “Lithuanian Society’s Fight Against Disinformation: Situation Analysis and Recommendations” (Eastern European Studies Centre, Vilnius, 2021); “Strategic Narrative of Georgia” (Georgian Center for Strategy and Development, Tbilisi, 2019); Development of hybrid forecasting system “Synergistic Anticipation of Geopolitical Events (SAGE)” (IARPA program, University of Southern California, USA, 2016-2019).

Dana Munteanu, Secretary of the Central Electoral Commission of the Republic of Moldova, on behalf of Angelica Caraman, Chairperson of the Central Electoral Commission of the Republic of Moldova
Dana Munteanu serves as Secretary of the Central Electoral Commission (CEC) of the Republic of Moldova since 2022. Among her main responsibilities are overseeing the proper organisation and conduct of electoral processes and ensuring the accuracy and management of voters’ lists. She has an extensive experience in the organisation and holding of elections for more than 10 years, holding progressive roles within the CEC. She is skilled in legal analysis, election management, institutional development, ensuring gender equality and accessibility of persons with disabilities in elections etc. She has a Bachelor of Law, specialisation in constitutional law and administrative law and a Master degree in Law.

She holds the qualification of certified trainer in electoral matters, contributing to the professional development of electoral officials and other interested subjects. 

Lina Petronienė, Chairperson of the Central Electoral Commission of Lithuania
Lina Petronienė is the chairperson of the Central Electoral Commission of the Republic of Lithuania (CEC) since 2023.

Since 2007 she worked as the Head of the Political Parties and Political Campaigns Financing Control Division of the Secretariat of the Central Election Commission of the Republic of Lithuania.

She worked on the development and improvement of the subsystem for the provision and control of data on financing of political campaigns and political organizations of the currently used information system of the Central Election Commission, participated in working group discussions on the improvement of legal regulation, and conducted research.

She has shared her experience at more than 15 international conferences and seminars on the topics of financing and financing control of political organizations and political campaigns, the application of information systems in this area, and the monitoring of political advertising.

Maksimas Reznikovas, Vice-Chairman of the Central Electoral Commission of Lithuania
Maksimas Reznikovas, Vice-Chairman and Secretary of the Central Electoral Commission, is serving his second term in CEC, nominated by the Minister of Justice. He holds a master’s degree in law from Vilnius University. Maksimas is also a communications consultant and partner at Fabula Rud Pedersen Group, specializing in corporate communications, media relations and crisis communications. He's a lecturer at the Faculty of Communication of Vilnius University.​

Erton Sinani, Chief-of-Staff at the Central Elections Commission of Albania, on behalf of Ilirjan Celibashi, State Elections Commissioner, Central Elections Commission of Albania
Erton Sinani is the Chief-of-Staff at the Central Elections Commission (CEC) of Albania, where he is currently serving his second tenure with the organisation. He first joined the CEC in 2002, contributing to its operations until 2006, and later returned in 2021 to continue his work in supporting electoral processes. With a professional background in journalism, his role encompasses facilitating collaboration and engagement with diverse stakeholders, including political parties, civil society organisations, government institutions, and international partners, to support transparent and effective electoral practices.

Rokas Stabingis, Head of Law and Investigation Unit in the Secretariat of the Central Electoral Commission of Lithuania
Rokas Stabingis is Head of the Law and Investigation Unit of the Secretariat of the Central Electoral Commission (CEC) of Lithuania since 2018. Before, since 2012 he has served as a member of the CEC.  Rokas holds an LLM degree in European Union Law from the Mykolas Romeris University (Lithuania) and studied in the Lund University (Sweden) and the Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies (Italy). He has extensive experience in election management and observation, electoral dispute resolution, electoral campaign, and campaign finance. He also is interested in topics on personal data, public procurement, public administration, and new voting technologies.​

Raimondas Šukys, Deputy Speaker of the Parliament of the Republic of Lithuania
Electoral trustee for Valdas Adamkus, as a candidate for the President of the Republic of Lithuania in 1997 and 2004; Member of the Board of the Valdas Adamkus Foundation (1997–2000). 2000–2012 Member of the Parliament of the Republic of Lithuania. 2006–2007 Minister of the Interior, 2010–2012 Minister of Health. Since 2020 Member of the Parliament. Since 27th of March 2025 is the Deputy Speaker of the Parliament.

Awards: Cross of Commander of the Order for Merits to Lithuania (2008), Grand Cross of the Order of Prince Henry the Navigator of the Portuguese Republic (2007), Third Class Order of the Cross of Terra Mariana of the Republic of Estonia (2008), Badge of Honour for Meritorious Service in the Area of Internal Affairs and Law Enforcement awarded by the Ministry of the Interior of the Republic of Lithuania  (2011), Meritorious Health Care Worker of Lithuania, awarded with a Badge of Honour for Meritorious Service in the Area of Health Care (2014).

Kristoffer Tamsons, Member of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe and Regional Councillor for Stockholm Region
Kristoffer Tamsons is the Second Deputy Chair of the Regional Executive Committee in Stockholm and the Leader of the Opposition in Region Stockholm since spring 2024. As such, he is the leading representative of both the Moderate Party and the regional opposition. From 2014 to 2022, Mr. Tamsons served as Regional Minister for Transport in Region Stockholm, where he played a central role in developing and overseeing public transportation policies. Prior to that, he was Chief of Staff and Head of Strategic Planning at the Prime Minister’s Office, serving under Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt from 2006 to 2012.
In addition to his regional roles, Mr. Tamsons has held senior positions in national and regional transport organizations, including Mälardalstrafik, "En Bättre Sits" (A Better Connection), and Svensk Kollektivtrafik (Swedish Public Transport Association).He also served as Rapporteur on Hate Speech and Fake News for the Council of Europe’s Congress of Local and Regional Authorities (CLRAE), and is a member of the European Committee of the Regions.

Gregor Wenda, Head of the Department of Electoral Affairs, Federal Ministry of the Interior of the Republic of Austria

 

Presentation

 Gregor Wenda, born and raised in Vienna, is a graduate of the University of Vienna Law School (Magister iuris) and the University of Salzburg Business School (Master of Business Administration). He started to work in the Austrian Federal Ministry of the Interior in 2003. 

After two years as a legal specialist in the Department of Legislative Affairs, he transferred to the Department of Electoral Affairs and became its Deputy Head.
 
In 2006, he also became Vice Chair of the Austrian Federal Electoral Board (i.e. the National Election Commission). 

Effective 1 May 2023, Gregor Wenda was appointed the new Head (Director) of the Electoral Affairs Department in the Federal Ministry of the Interior.

Gregor Wenda has been a member of and contributor to working groups, committees, expert circles, conferences, seminars and projects of – inter alia – the European Commission, the Council of Europe, and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe. 

He is the editor and author of numerous publications, including articles and commentaries, and holds functions in different legal associations.
 
 

Angelica Caraman, Chairperson of the Central Electoral Commission of the Republic of Moldova
Ms Angelica Caraman is the Chairperson of Central Electoral Commission (CEC) of the Republic of Moldova, since 2021. She is Licentiate in Philology and Law and holds two Master degrees, in political and electoral management and in theory and practice of public administration. 

She has an extensive experience in the organization and holding of elections for more than 20 years. Previously, she acted as Head of Elections Management Department, Deputy Director of Center for Continuous Electoral Training of the CEC and held different positions in the Local Public Administration Authorities.

Detailed biography

Ilirjan Celibashi, State Elections Commissioner, Central Elections Commission of Albania
Ilirjan Celibashi is a senior jurist with a distinguished career in law, having served as an Appeal Court Judge, Member of Parliament, and Government Minister. He was the youngest Chair of the Central Elections Commission of Albania (2001-2006) and was reappointed as State Elections Commissioner in 2020. Under Celibashi's latest tenure, CEC Albania extended a nationwide biometric voter identification and a significant allocation of electronic voting and counting in Albania.

With a background in judiciary and public administration, he has successfully managed multiple parliamentary and local elections. Beyond his electoral roles, Celibashi has worked as a corporate and administrative law attorney and has contributed as a policy advisor on electoral codes and ethics.