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Resolution 1897 (2012) Final version
Ensuring greater democracy in elections
1. The Parliamentary Assembly emphasises
once more that democratic elections are decisive for ensuring that
the will of the people is respected in the shaping of the legislature
and government at all levels and that elected bodies are effectively
representative. It recalls in this respect its Resolution 1705 (2010) on thresholds and
other features of electoral systems which have an impact on representativity
of parliaments in Council of Europe member States, and its Resolution 1706 (2010)
on increasing women’s representation in politics through the electoral
system.
2. The Assembly notes that, today, when citizens seem to have
less and less confidence in the institutions of representative democracy,
it is all the more crucial to enhance the democratic character of
elections and thus reinforce the link between the expression of
the people and the actual outcome of the vote.
3. Ten years after the drawing up of the Code of Good Practice
in Electoral Matters by the European Commission for Democracy through
Law (Venice Commission), following an initiative of the Assembly, considerable
improvements, both in electoral legislation and practice, have taken
place in most member States of the Council of Europe. However, the
Assembly election observation reports still all too often identify irregularities
which show that the holding of “free and fair” elections remains
a major challenge to be addressed.
4. Whereas domestic electoral legislation in most member States
generally offers a good basis to hold “free and fair” elections,
there are recurrent violations, mainly due to a lack of political
commitment at the highest level – generally on the part of the ruling
political forces – to ensure full and effective implementation of
the law and a level playing field to all candidates. Also, at present,
the most serious violations tend to occur in the pre-electoral period
and are thus more difficult to detect.
5. On the basis of election observation reports and other Council
of Europe sources, the Assembly is concerned that certain election-related
violations still persist in a number of Council of Europe member
States, such as: misuse of administrative resources; opacity of
election campaign funding and other problems related to political
party funding; lack of equal access to the media and of media impartiality;
lack of independence and neutrality of the electoral administration;
threats, pressure, violence and intimidation carried out against candidates
or voters, arbitrary detention of opposition candidates and supporters;
inaccuracy of electoral registers likely to lead to electoral fraud;
restrictions on the right to stand for election, including excessive registration
requirements for candidates and political parties; vote buying,
family voting, ballot box stuffing, falsification of electoral protocols
and other irregularities during vote counting; ineffective election
complaints and appeals procedures.
6. While the violations that occur on voting day and during counting
are, on the whole, more frequent in countries which do not have
a long tradition of democracy, others, such as those linked to election
campaign and political party funding, media impartiality and use
of administrative resources, also occur in member States with long-standing
democratic experience. Serious election violations have resulted
in periods of instability and political crisis in some member States
and may generally pose a threat to the “soft security” of societies.
7. In the light of recurrent and persistent problems in the electoral
process, measures to improve the democratic character of elections
should respond to three main imperatives: foster participation,
ensure transparency and strengthen supervision.
8. The Assembly therefore calls on the Council of Europe member
States to:
8.1. foster citizen participation
in the electoral process, in particular by:
8.1.1. drawing
up electoral registers in such a way as to ensure that as many voters
as possible register. First-time registration should be automatic,
electoral registers should be permanent and recourse to supplementary
lists exceptional. Multiple voting should be prevented effectively
without, however, violating the principle of the secrecy of the
vote;
8.1.2. ensuring a free choice for voters by making as many political
options as possible available in line with the principle of political
pluralism. Requirements for the registration of candidates and political
parties which are too strict should be abolished;
8.1.3. opening lists in proportional electoral systems to allow
citizens, where appropriate, to choose individual candidates from
among different lists;
8.1.4. enhancing internal party democracy through adoption of
the relevant legislative framework, in particular as regards transparency
of financing of political parties and the selection of candidates
for election, in line with the Venice Commission’s Code of Good
Practice in the field of Political Parties;
8.1.5. opting for an electoral system which better reflects the
opinion of the people and the political composition of the electorate,
as well as taking into account other important aspects such as geographic
distribution, gender or ethnicity;
8.1.6. introducing in their electoral legislation mechanisms
to promote the balanced representation of women and men in elected
bodies at all levels as well as encouraging political parties to
introduce internal regulations, policies and affirmative action
so as to promote the participation and representation of women in
politics;
8.1.7. facilitating access to nationality as advocated in the
European Convention on Nationality (ETS No. 166) and granting legally
resident migrants voting rights and/or other possibilities for political
participation as proposed in the Convention on the Participation
of Foreigners in Public Life at Local Level (ETS No. 144). Democratic
legitimacy is not served by excluding large numbers of migrants
from political life and democratic elections;
8.1.8. ensuring that the design of the electoral system and the
delimitation of constituencies facilitate the effective participation
of minorities in the election process and thus promote minority representation
as a factor guaranteeing interethnic peace and stability;
8.1.9. ensuring freedom of political debate in the media and
guaranteeing that electoral campaigns are open and accessible and
that they allow genuine debate that is not only of interest to voters
but also informative for their choices. This requires, in particular,
transparency and pluralism of all media as well as equal access
for all candidates and political parties to the public service media,
which should be impartial. Any national regulations on election
campaigns should strike a fair balance between freedom of expression
and ensuring equal opportunities;
8.1.10. requiring that political parties permanently refrain from
exercising pressure, violence and intimidation on the population,
and protecting voters and candidates against such threats. This
requires strict compliance with the principle of secrecy of the
ballot and application of dissuasive but proportionate sanctions
against perpetrators of any of these violations;
8.1.11. guaranteeing that all possible means are used to make
all polling stations accessible;
8.1.12. enabling all citizens to exercise their right to vote
through proxy voting, postal voting or e-voting, on the condition
that the secrecy and the security of the vote are guaranteed; facilitating the
participation in the electoral process of citizens living abroad,
subject to restrictions in accordance with the law, such as duration
of residence abroad, whilst ensuring that, if polling stations are
set up abroad, their establishment is based on transparent criteria;
safeguarding the right to vote of vulnerable groups (people with
disabilities, people who are illiterate, etc.) by adapting polling
stations and voting material to their needs; abolishing legal provisions
providing for general, automatic and indiscriminate disenfranchisement
of all serving prisoners irrespective of the nature or gravity of
their offences;
8.1.13. consolidating overall democratic culture through the implementation
of the Council of Europe Charter on Education for Democratic Citizenship
and Human Rights Education;
8.2. ensure transparency of the electoral process, particularly
in:
8.2.1. the organisation of elections: they should be
organised by independent and impartial bodies, which should lead
to the general introduction of central electoral commissions, ensuring that
adequate resources are made available for the effective registration
of voters and efficient organisation of the ballot. Electoral commissions
should perform in a transparent, efficient and professional manner.
Multi-party electoral commissions, which have gained in popularity recently,
do not seem to be the best solution. When they are opted for, there
should be guarantees for their composition to be politically balanced
and their functioning transparent throughout the electoral process;
8.2.2. electoral campaign funding and party financing: legislation
in this field is necessary not only to regulate the origin of funding
and set a limit on expenditure, but also to enable all voters to
have access to data on the nature and amount of campaign and party
spending. To ensure strict implementation of such legislation, any
violations should be sanctioned by proportionate penalties;
8.2.3. the conduct of the ballot: it is advisable to ensure that
polling stations are appropriately designed, that transparent ballot
boxes are used, that voting booths are available, that counting takes
place in public and that distance voting is well regulated. The
presence of international observers should be facilitated, in line
with the Declaration of Principles for International Election Observation
and also with the Venice Commission’s Guidelines on an internationally
recognised status of election observers. National observers, including
from civil society, should be authorised in all member States, in
line with the Venice Commission’s Declaration of Global Principles
for Non-partisan Election Observation and Monitoring by Citizen
Organizations and the Code of Conduct for Non-partisan Election
Observers and Monitors. Accreditation procedures should be simple
and easily accessible;
8.3. strengthen supervision by ensuring an effective, transparent
and accessible complaints and appeals system in order to put an
end to the culture of impunity for election-related offences and enhance
public confidence in the electoral process. It is particularly advisable
that:
8.3.1. supervision be assigned to a judge (whether
special, ordinary or constitutional), at least as a last resort,
and cover the entire electoral process. The system of parliamentary
verification of credentials employed in several States would not
seem to ensure the necessary impartiality;
8.3.2. access to courts be facilitated through simplified, free
procedures involving short but reasonable time frames. Voters should
be well informed of the existing appeal procedures and have easy
access to the necessary forms;
8.3.3. dissuasive but proportionate penalties be provided in
cases of fraud, manipulation or cheating. The penalties must be
applicable to both the direct perpetrators (rarely the candidates themselves)
and to those instigating the fraud. The public and international
observers should be informed of any sanctions imposed.
9. Finally, in the light of its election observation experience
over the past twenty years, during which it has observed more than
140 parliamentary and presidential elections, involving some 1 900
of its members, the Assembly believes that there is a need to strengthen
synergies and enhance follow-up to election observation both within
the Council of Europe and through co-operation with other specialised
international organisations.
10. The Assembly therefore:
10.1. resolves
to enhance follow-up to recommendations made in international election
observation reports in the context of the work carried out in its
Monitoring Committee and in particular in the context of co-rapporteurs’
visits to the States concerned, in the preparation of their reports
and also, as appropriate, in the context of the committee’s annual
progress report;
10.2. recalls in this context that the Monitoring Committee’s
co-rapporteurs for a given country are entitled, in accordance with
the Guidelines for the observation of elections by the Parliamentary Assembly,
to participate ex officio in
an ad hoc committee to observe an election in that country;
10.3. resolves to strengthen synergies with other international
organisations and non-governmental organisations which have an expertise
in the field of elections, including after election observation,
with a view to promoting the recommendations made by the international
community and ensuring their implementation;
10.4. resolves to promote regular consultations, aiming at greater
complementarity between the various Council of Europe bodies which
have expertise in the field, notably the Assembly, the Venice Commission
and the Group of States against Corruption (GRECO). This unique
potential of the Organisation could be turned to greater account;
10.5. expresses its support for the Declaration of Global Principles
for Non-partisan Election Observation and Monitoring by Citizen
Organizations and the Code of Conduct for Non-partisan Election Observers
and Monitors;
10.6. invites the Secretary General of the Council of Europe
to strengthen the Organisation’s medium- and long-term electoral
assistance programmes by better targeting them at the problems observed.