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Congress to observe local elections in Türkiye
A twenty-member delegation from the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe will carry out a mission from 29 March until 1 April to observe local elections in various regions of Türkiye to be held on 31 March 2024. The delegation will be accompanied by an expert and...
Presidential 'election' in Russia: "Let's not recognise Putin’s legitimacy as president", PACE President says
Following the Presidential election in Russia, PACE President Theodoros Rousopoulos today made the following statement: "Some minutes ago, the polling stations in the so-called ‘elections’ in the Russian Federation closed and the exit polls announced the projections. And there was little surprise...
Congress President condemns plans for Russian presidential elections in occupied Ukrainian regions
The President of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe, Marc Cools, has made the following statement: “I strongly condemn the plans by the Russian Federation to organise presidential elections in the temporarily occupied regions of Ukraine.” “The illegal conduct...
Congress President denounces so-called local elections in Belarus
The President of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe, Marc Cools, has made the following statement: “The so-called local elections organised in Belarus on 25 February 2024 are nothing but a sham. Without freedoms of speech, assembly and association, without...
PACE President: “The ‘elections’ in Belarus are a travesty of democracy”
“There cannot be free and fair elections in a situation where freedoms of speech, assembly and association are curtailed; where opposition political parties are liquidated and their leaders persecuted; where the freedom of the media is not respected; and where there is no redress against these...
Council of Europe Congress concerned about the local elections in Serbia
The Congress spokesperson on observation of local and regional elections, Stewart Dickson, has expressed grave concern about the serious irregularities reported by the Congress’ partners in their joint International Election Observation Mission of the early parliamentary elections which took...
Local elections in the Republic of Moldova: A well-organised election process, despite challenging circumstances
At the invitation of the authorities of the Republic of Moldova, the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe deployed a mission to observe the local elections held on 5 November 2023 throughout the country. The Congress mission was led by Gunn Marit Helgesen (Norway,...
Joint statement on illegitimate elections in parts of Ukraine temporarily occupied by Russia
Joint Statement from the Prime Minister of Latvia (acting Minister of Foreign Affairs) and Council of Europe President of the Committee of Ministers, Krišjānis Kariņš, the President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, Tiny Kox, and the Secretary General of the Council of...
Congress condemns local elections in occupied Ukrainian territories
The President of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe, Leendert Verbeek, condemns the decision of the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation to organise local elections in the illegally annexed Ukrainian territories of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson...
Belarus: Statement by PACE rapporteur on the occasion of the 3rd anniversary of the presidential elections
“The 3rd anniversary of the fraudulent presidential elections of 2020 in Belarus is a moment to mark our solidarity with all those Belarusians who have chosen freedom, human rights, democracy, and the rule of law,” said Kimmo Kiljunen (Finland, SOC), rapporteur on “Call for a national political...
