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‘Free and legitimate elections essential to safeguard Georgia’s place in Europe’, says head of PACE pre-electoral delegation, ending visit
A PACE pre-electoral delegation, headed by Iulian Bulai (Romania, ALDE), has concluded a two-day visit to Georgia (23-24 September 2024) ahead of the parliamentary elections of 26 October 2024. Mr Bulai stressed that these elections are taking place at a very crucial moment in Georgia’s European...
Republic of Moldova: PACE delegation concerned about significant foreign interference in forthcoming election
A pre-election delegation from the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), concluding a visit to the Republic of Moldova on 17-18 September 2024, stressed that the country is at a critical crossroads. The upcoming presidential election and constitutional referendum on 20 October...
New guidelines to protect voters' personal data
The Council of Europe has issued guidelines aimed at protecting individuals' personal data when registering as voters and when their identity needs to be authenticated to participate in elections. The guidelines, prepared by the Consultative Committee of the Convention for the Protection of...
PACE delegation makes pre-electoral visit to the Republic of Moldova
A seven-member delegation of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), led by Thórhildur Sunna Ævarsdóttir (Iceland, SOC), will make a pre-electoral visit to the Republic of Moldova on 17-18 September to assess the election campaign and political climate prior to the...
Carabinieri trained on ensuring public order in the electoral process ahead of presidential elections and constitutional referendum in Republic of Moldova - Electoral assistance
(Seulement en anglais) In preparation for the upcoming 2024 Presidential election and constitutional referendum in Moldova, approximately 80 carabinieri representing the General Inspectorate...
Congress President condemns illegal elections in the occupied Crimea
The President of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe, Marc Cools, has issued the following statement: “On behalf of the Congress, I condemn the illegal conduct of so-called elections by the Russian Federation in Ukraine’s Autonomous Republic of Crimea and City...
Georgian district electoral commissioners explored practical tools how to incorporate international standards on the use of information technology in domestic electoral practices - Electoral assistance
(Seulement en anglais) Council of Europe, in cooperation with the Georgian Central Election Commission and its Training Center, delivered training of trainers on the E-voting standards to the...
OSCE/ODIHR observation mission will not give interim assessment of Parliamentary elections in Azerbaijan
The OSCE/ODIHR observation mission for the early elections to the Milli Majlis on September 1 announced the start of its activities. As its head, the representative of Albania, Ditmir Bushati, said at a press conference that the mission includes 11 experts in the field of elections, law, media,...
PACE summer session: Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, challenges to democracy in Georgia, Vigdís Prize
A joint debate on the legal and human rights aspects of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, on the role of sanctions and on the erasure of cultural identity, as well as an address by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (to be confirmed), are among the highlights of the summer plenary session...
Council of Europe Congress: Local elections in Türkiye overall well organised and respecting the will of the voters
Despite certain deficiencies observed in the electoral campaign, local elections in Türkiye were overall well organised and respected the will of the people – these were the preliminary findings of the election observation mission of the Council of Europe Congress of Local and Regional...
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...
In Türkiye’s presidential runoff, a competitive campaign continued to be marked by lack of level playing field and media bias, say international observers
The second round of Türkiye’s presidential election was well run and gave voters the opportunity to choose between real political alternatives, but was characterized by increasingly inflammatory and discriminatory language during the campaign period. Media bias and ongoing restrictions to freedom...
New Thematic Factsheet - Right to free elections
The Execution Department has issued a new Thematic Factsheet on the right to free elections. This right, guaranteed under Article 3 of Protocol No. 1 to the European Convention on Human Rights, is crucial to establishing and maintaining the foundations of an effective and meaningful democracy...
Repeat elections in Berlin: Congress delegation welcomes orderly election, but calls for more clarity on distribution of responsibilities
A delegation from the Congress of the Council of Europe observed local and regional elections to the Berlin House of Representatives as well as Berlin District Councils in Germany on 12 February 2023. These elections represented a re-run of the elections of 26 September 2021, which were declared...
Congress to observe repeat regional and district council elections in Berlin
A 10-member delegation from the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities will carry out an election observation mission from 11 to 13 February to observe the repeat elections of the House of Representatives and District Councils in Berlin (Germany). These will be held on 12 February 2023, as...
Local elections in Slovenia: Congress delegation welcomes an orderly ballot, but calls for more coherent regulations
A delegation from the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities carried out an observation mission of the local elections held on 20 November in Slovenia. The 18 observers were deployed to different regions of the country, in order to follow the electoral procedures in 120 polling stations,...
Council of Europe Secretary General rejects so-called ‘referenda’ in occupied Ukrainian territories
The Secretary General of the 46-nation Council of Europe, Marija Pejčinović Burić, has today made the following statement: “The announced so-called ‘referenda’ in Ukrainian territories that are occupied by Russian forces is a further escalation of the conflict and the ongoing violation of...
Lighting the Shade: Effective Application of the ECHR in Areas of Conflict in Europe
Areas of conflict in Europe are territories "where politics - and arms - stand between people and their rights", highlighted the Deputy Secretary General while giving the opening address to the conference "Lighting the shade: Effective Application of the ECHR in Areas of Conflict in Europe", held...
Congress President warns of fictitious Russian "referendums" in Ukrainian territories
Against the background of mounting indications of possible "pseudo-referendums" in Ukrainian territories currently occupied by Russia, the President of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe, Leendert Verbeek, has urged the Russian authorities to refrain from such...
Young people should stand up against populism, nationalism and extremism that risk silencing their voices, says Secretary General
Opening the major event in Strasbourg, Youth Action Week which marks the 50th anniversary of the Council of Europe’s youth sector, Council of Europe Secretary General Marija Pejčinović Burić called on young people to remain engaged in revitalising democracy and in addressing the emerging threats...
Türkiye: Reducing threshold for parliamentary elections is welcome but other amendments could hamper inclusive democracy and impartiality of elections
Despite some positive aspects, a recent law amending parliamentary election procedures in Türkiye (Law No. 7393) could impede the participation of newer (and smaller) parties, according to an opinion by the Council of Europe’s Venice Commission of legal and constitutional experts. Jointly drafted...
