3619 Results
Quotes
Quotes based on international documents, law, and treaties- "Provisional election results can be published in different ways. In some countries, the incoming results from lower level to higher electoral commission are publicly displayed as and when they come in. With this system of “piecemeal reporting”, first results can be quickly provided, but the initial results may be different from the final outcome, as the results come in from different areas. Alternatively, provisional results may not be announced until all results, or a representative portion of them, have been reported from lower level to higher level electoral commissions. In such cases, the first published provisional results are close to the final outcome. Under this system, however, taking too much time to publish the first provisional results might be problematic. "
- "Both the inaccuracy and the delay of provisional results might negatively affect the level of confidence in the elections and can meet with opposition. Depending on the electoral system and the political context, a balance has to be found between the need for an early announcement and the need for a reliable consolidation of provisional results. "
- "In any case, it is highly desirable that the Central Electoral Commission publishes (reliable) provisional results not only as fast as possible, but also as detailed as possible. Breaking down the results by polling station and making this tabulation available to the voters may considerably contribute to the transparency of election. An important element of transparency is the voters’ and party representatives’ ability to check results protocols issued at polling station level in comparison with the results published by higher level electoral commissions. In the meantime, many Central Election Commissions publish election results broken down by polling station results on their website, a practice which is generally welcomed. "
- "The management of complaints and appeals is an essential part of democratic elections. The Code of Good Practice in Electoral Matters underlines that irregularities in the election process must be open to challenge before an appeal body. Generally speaking, complaints and appeals may result in the partial or full invalidation of election results. They also may aim to correct problems and decisions even before the elections, especially in connection with the right to vote and voter registration, the right to stand for elections, the validity of candidatures, compliance with the rules governing the electoral campaign, access to the media, and party funding (CDL-AD(2002)023rev, para. 92). "
- "Complaint and appeals procedures must be open at least to each voter, candidate, and party. A reasonable quorum may, however, be imposed for appeals by voters on the results of election (CDL-AD(2002)023rev, para. 99). In order to comply with international standards, the complaint and appeals procedures should clearly provide the following rights for voters, candidates, and political parties: The rights to file a complaint, to present evidence in support of the complaint, to a public and fair hearing on the complaint, to an impartial and transparent proceedings on the complaint, to an effective and speedy remedy, as well as to appeal an appellate court if a remedy is denied (see for example CDLAD(2004)027, para. 111). In practice, however, these rights are not always respected. At times, even credible complaints are left without any legal redress. "
- "It is of paramount importance that appeal procedures should be clear, transparent, and easily understandable. However, in a number of cases, the procedures for dealing with complaints and appeals are not clearly defined and are very complicated. International observers’ reports repeatedly characterise complaint and appeals procedures as complex, ambiguous, and confusing, leading to an inconsistent interpretation and application of the electoral law. The rules and procedures are often not well understood by electoral subjects. Furthermore, members of relevant bodies are not always sufficiently trained on election complaints and appeals rules. "
- "Especially with dual complaint and appeal procedures, which involve electoral commissions and ordinary courts, the electoral law should clearly regulate the respective powers and responsibilities so that a conflict of jurisdiction can be avoided. Neither the appellants nor the authorities should be able to choose the appeal body (see CDLAD(2002)023rev, II.3.3.c. and para. 97). Thus, the possibility of concurrent complaints procedures is avoided. Furthermore, it should be clear which bodies act as first instance fact finding bodies and which bodies act as appellate review bodies. "
- "Appeal bodies should have the authority to annul elections. There is consensus that the annulment should not necessarily affect the entire election. Instead, partial invalidation should be possible if irregularities affect a small area only. The central criterion for (partly or completely) annulling elections is, or should be, the question of whether irregularities may have affected the outcome, i.e. may have affected the allocation of mandates. "
- "As a matter of principle, electoral violations should be investigated and electoral violators should be held accountable by law. Thus, election (and party) legislation and/or framework legislation such as Civil and Penal Codes should specify election-related offences (which can be committed by voters, candidates, parties, media, electoral and public officials, etc.) and the legal sanctions for such offences (e.g. forfeiture of contributions or public funding, suspension or disqualification for a candidate, fines or imprisonment). "
- "Though widespread electoral violations were acknowledged to have taken place, there was a general failure to enforce the law in a number of elections. In some countries, there is still a “culture of impunity” for election-related offences. Of particular concern is the fact that election officials are seldom held legally or administratively accountable for electoral violations. Electoral observers have frequently demanded that election officials found guilty of irregularities should be held accountable and not be reappointed for future elections. The relevant authorities’ general failure to take measures against election violations undermined the credibility of, and public confidence in, elections of several countries. Prompt and radical measures by the authorities are needed to curtail any tolerance for election-related offences as well as to fully restore the rule of law and confidence in the election process. "
- "Final results cannot be announced until the electoral authorities have received the decisions on any complaints and appeals that might have bearing on the outcome of the elections. Partial or full recounts of votes and annulments of elections might be required by complaints and court decisions. Some legislation calls for automatic recounts if the resulting differences of candidates/parties are within a certain margin. In some cases, the extremely long delay of the announcement of final results was a source of conflict. "
- "The conversion of votes to political mandates depends largely upon the electoral system. The Code of Good Practice in Electoral Matters is quite indifferent about the electoral system, as long as these systems are democratic in nature. With respect to democratic principles, thus, any electoral system may be chosen, regardless if it is a plurality or majority system, a proportional system or a combined system. It should be underlined that there is no such thing as the “best” electoral system that could be exported to all countries in the world. "
- "Apart from the fact that the effects of one particular electoral system can be different from country to country, we must appreciate that electoral systems can pursue different, sometimes even antagonistic, political aims. One electoral system might concentrate more on a fair representation of the parties in parliament, while another one might aim to avoid a fragmentation of the party system and encourage the formation of a governing majority of one party in Parliament. One electoral system encourages a close relationship between voters and “their” constituency representatives, while another makes it easy for the parties to specifically introduce women, minorities or specialists into parliament by way of closed party lists. In some countries, complicated electoral systems are accepted in order to combine several political aims. In other countries, it is seen as a priority that the electoral system be not too difficult for the electorate and the administration to understand and operate. The appropriateness of an electoral system is determined according to whether it will do justice, bearing in mind the local conditions and problems. In particular, transparency of the elaboration of the list should be ensured. Thus, the electoral system and proposals to reform should be assessed in each individual case. "
- "There is broad agreement that women’s representation should be increased in democratic institutions. The electoral system may affect the structure of opportunities for women’s representation. There is some empirical evidence, for example, that women are generally better represented under proportional representation list systems than, for example, in plurality or majority systems in single-member constituencies. Usually closed lists are preferable to open list voting systems. "
- "There might be gender quotas for the composition of or the candidacies for Parliament. According to the Code of Good Practice in Electoral Matters, legal rules requiring a minimum percentage of persons of each gender among candidates should not be considered as contrary to the principle of equal suffrage (CDL-AD(2002)023rev, I.2.5). "
- "It should be clear that the electoral system itself is neither a necessary nor a sufficient condition to ensure women’s representation. Additional measures are needed to encourage the increase in women’s representation. Some measures have been included in the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly recommendation 1676 (2004), adopted on 5 October 2004. "
- "Sometimes there also strong demands for a better representation of national minorities in Parliament. In such cases, the electoral systems may facilitate the minority representation, for example, by the use of proportional representation systems in nation-wide or in large multi-member constituencies (without a high threshold of representation). But also PR list systems in small multi-member districts or even plurality/majority systems in single-member constituencies may ensure minority representation if the minorities are territorially concentrated. Also, the candidacy and voting form, among other things, may have an influence on minority representation. In some countries (e.g. Poland and Germany), there are “threshold exemptions” for candidates lists or parties presenting national minorities (see CDL-AD(2005)009, paras 35, 49) "
- "The process of voter identification is of paramount importance for the overall integrity of the electoral process. Before voting, voters are required to prove their identity, usually through presentation of identity documents. It is important that the Election Law or instructions by the electoral administration body clearly specify what kind of identity document is valid for the purpose of voter identification. "
- "Following confirmation of the voter’s identity, the next step is usually to check whether the voter has the right to vote at that particular polling station. Such a check is normally done by voters list. However, the problem of voters coming to polling stations without their names being on the voter register, either because they went to the wrong polling station or because the voter lists were in a sorry state, was reported in several countries. Given the poor quality of regular voter lists in some countries, supplementary lists might be necessary, but this is far from being ideal. "
- "Furthermore, polling station officials must check whether the voter has already voted in the election. Unfortunately, “multiple voting” is still a common problem in a number of states in the region. In principle, it can be avoided if the voters are properly identified and registered, and the voter lists are signed by the voter (or marked by the election officials) when voters receive the ballot papers. However, in practice, there are many instances in which voter lists were not signed by voters, or in which multiple similar signatures with the same handwriting were found on the voters lists (see for example, CG/BUR (11) 95; CG/BUR (11) 122rev). The latter may indicate either “multiple voting” or “family voting”. "
- "In order to safeguard the ballot, in many countries ballot papers bear an official stamp specific to the polling station and/or the signature of authorised polling station officials. Some electoral laws contain clear and detailed provisions on that subject. According to the Code of Good Practice in Electoral Matters, the signing and stamping of ballot papers should not take place at the point at which the ballot is presented to the voter because, theoretically, the stamp or the signature might mark the ballot in such a way that the voter could be identified later during the count. (CDL-AD(2002)023rev, para. 34). Even more important is that the ballots are not stamped by a member of the polling station commission after the voter has made his/her choice. "
- "The definition of electoral systems as “the set of procedural rules governing the expression of votes cast in a given election and their conversion into seats”, enables us in the first place to classify those features in two main categories: the first consists of all those factors relating to the organisation, the conduct and the process of the election; the second consists of the rules relating to the counting of votes and the distribution of seats. "
- "Three types of suffrage are available in democratic systems: direct universal suffrage, indirect universal suffrage and multi-tiered elections. - direct universal suffrage: namely “where every citizen, except those who are excluded by law, can directly participate in the vote” and elect his or her representatives without the involvement of intermediaires. This type of vote is employed in practically all democracies for the purposes of electing representatives to lower chambers. - indirect universal suffrage: elected representatives are chosen by leading citizens, who may themselves be elected representatives. However, unlike electoral colleges, the leading citizens in question are not chosen for that purpose. - Multi-tiered elections: representatives are chosen by electoral colleges chosen for that purpose. Nowadays this type of suffrage is no longer used to elect representatives to lower chambers, but the President of the United States is elected by a system of electoral colleges. "
- "Proportional representation may be defined in terms of its objective, which is to seek to achieve “a proportional transposition of votes into mandates”. "
- "Proportional representation is generally regarded as being the “fairest system” on the grounds that it tends towards a more faithful representation of the various political forces. However, the drawback with this system is that it favours a fragmentation of those seeking to be elected and consequently makes it more difficult to form stable majorities in the assemblies. "
- "A third variable characterising electoral systems is “the units within which voting returns are translated into distributions of parliamentary seats”, namely the constituency or electoral district. The constituency may have a social (“personal circles”) or a territorial (territorial constituencies) basis. "
- "Determining the constituency boundaries is an important step in the electoral process, since they can give rise to marked “structural” inequalities in representation. Three factors may be behind such disparities: demographic change, gerrymandering and “natural gerrymandering”. "
- "“Categorical” voting methods oblige the voter to indicate a preference for a party, a list or a candidate to the exception of all others. They are used both in plurality/majority systems and in elections run under proportional representation. "
- "Single-member ballot: there is where there is just one seat to be filled per constituency and each elector has only one vote. It is therefore applicable only in plurality/majority or hybrid systems. "
- "The single non-transferable vote: irrespective of the number of seats to be filled, each elector has only one vote. Candidates receiving the most votes are elected in proportion to the number of seats to be filled. This system is regarded as being the “fairest” of the nonproportional methods, since it enables a high degree of proportionality to be achieved between the votes cast and the number of seats. "
- "The closed list: Under this system the elector has to choose a list in its entirety. It is generally used in proportional representation systems; but it can also be used in plurality/majority and hybrid systems. Under proportional representation, candidates on closed lists are elected in the order in which they appear on the list. "
- "“Ordinal” voting methods enable electors to express a more complex choice. For example, they can class parties by order of preference or choose between the lists or candidates presented to them. Whereas they are chiefly used in proportional representation systems, “ordinal” voting methods are sometimes used in plurality/majority systems. "
- "The preferential vote: this type of vote is possible only for list-based proportional systems. It enables the elector to mark a preference for one or more candidates appearing on the competing lists. However, it is not a question of classifying candidates within lists but only a way of expressing a preference for a specific candidate or candidates. The number of preferential votes which an elector may cast is limited. "
- "“Latoisage” or “negative vote”: this is the converse of the preferential vote in that the elector can strike one or more candidates from the list, so as to show which candidate he or she does not wish to vote for. The “negative vote” differs from panachage (or vote-splitting) as the elector does not indicate the name(s) of other candidate(s) to replace the candidate(s) struck out. "
- "Cumulative vote: electors may give two or more votes to a given candidate. In practice therefore, each elector has a stock of votes equal to the number of seats to be filled which he or she can use to mark his or her preference. The leading candidates are elected in proportion to the number of seats to be filled. When used in the plurality/majority systems, the cumulative vote tends to accentuate artificially the representation of significant minorities. The drawback with this system is that it may result in a defeat for the majority if there is an excessively large number of votes for one of its candidates. Lastly, it should be noted that the cumulative vote may be combined with the limited vote. "
- "Graduated or rank-ordered vote: this allows electors to classify candidates in order of preference. To this end, electors have a number of votes which they distribute between the various candidates for whom they wish to vote. Each position corresponds to a number of votes determined by the legislature. It is in this respect that this method differs from the cumulative vote. It should be added that the number of candidates for whom an elector may express a preference may be limited. "
- "Panachage or vote-splitting: the elector can modify a party list and include on it candidates from other lists. Panachage is rarely authorised in proportional representation systems. "
- "The blank list: the elector draws up his or her list of candidates that he or she would like to see elected, but the candidates’ names must already appear on other lists. "
- "The totally open list: electors draw up their lists themselves. They can include persons of their choice, whether or not they are standing for election. The persons obtaining the most votes are declared elected. Multi-member plurality/majority ballots belong in this category. The candidates stand independently and electors indicate the names of those they would like to see elected. "
- "The limited vote: the elector has fewer votes than there are seats to be filled and he or she is not allowed to cast more than one vote for a given candidate. The candidates with the most votes are elected in proportion to the number of seats to be filled. "
- "Contingency vote systems: the elector has only one vote under this voting system. On his ballot paper, he is asked to classify all the candidates standing in his constituency in order of preference. In the count, his vote will initially go to his or her first-preference candidate. Subsequently, that vote may be transferred to the second, third, etc preferred candidate. The aim of this voting method is to enable electors to qualify their choice, while avoiding the wastage of votes granted to candidates who would not be elected or who already have a sufficient number of votes to be declared elected. In practice, this type of voting method has invariably been used where there are individual candidatures. However, it could theoretically be applied to list-based ballots provided that the lists are closed. It should also be noted that contingency vote systems are only used for single-round ballots. "
- "A further variable affecting the make-up of electoral systems is the number of rounds of voting. Most ballots consist of one or two rounds but there are also systems with n rounds. a. Single-round ballots: these can be used not only in proportional representation systems but also in first-past-the-post systems. This type of ballot generally leads to a bipolarisation of political life (Duverger’s Law) or at least to the conclusion of pre-electoral agreements between large and small parties. Moreover, opting for a single round ballot magnifies, virtually systematically, the dominance of the majority party in terms of votes and under-representation of other parties in the assemblies. This trend is even more marked where there is a multi-member ballot. "
- "A further variable affecting the make-up of electoral systems is the number of rounds of voting. Most ballots consist of one or two rounds but there are also systems with n rounds. b. Two-round ballots: a second round of voting is habitually used where the leading candidate or list failed to obtain an absolute majority19 in the first round and this type of majority is necessary in order to be declared elected in the first round. It is therefore closely linked to the majority system. "
- "In order to guarantee a measure of representativeness of elected persons, a quorum is often necessary in order to validate an election in the first or, indeed, the second round. The quorum can take two forms: a minimum score in terms of the registered electorate for the leading candidate or the attainment of a certain participation rate. "
- "In the second round of voting, only a relative majority is needed for a given candidate or list to be declared elected. "
- "In single-member ballots, opting for a two-round election has the main effect of encouraging coalitions between parties: “The influence of the two-round, single-member ballot on the strategies of political parties may depend as much on alliances as on the number of votes obtained”. The logic behind this type of ballot is that in the first round, each party should quantify the strength of the other parties. In the second round, these parties support those candidates best placed to win and promote their ideas. More often than not, this support is expressed by withdrawal. In multi-member systems, support may take tangible form in the merging of lists (if authorised and subject to the reaching of certain applicable thresholds). It should be noted that where alliances are possible only in a single camp – owing in particular to the influence of extreme parties or parties excluded from alliances with government parties –, the inequalities in terms of representation may prove to be particularly marked." "
- "The single-member alternative vote: the number of first preferences obtained by each of the candidates is counted. If one of them obtains an absolute majority, he or she is elected. If this is not the case, the candidate who obtained the fewest first preferences is eliminated. The second preferences recorded on the ballot papers of the candidate who has been eliminated are then considered. Those second preferences then become first preferences. The total number of first preferences is recalculated to see if one of the candidates obtains an absolute majority. If that is not the case, the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated and his or her votes are carried forward as described above. The operation is repeated as many times as is necessary for one candidate to obtain the absolute majority of the votes cast. The advantage of this manner of counting votes is that it avoids any candidate being elected by chance owing to the dispersion of his or her competitors. It also affords a higher degree of representativeness of the person elected in his constituency, since votes cast for small candidates will be taken into account by the carry-over system. ... Multi-member alternative vote: the first seat is allocated using the same method as in single member constituencies. For the purposes of allocating the second seat, the second preferences on the ballot papers of the candidate elected become first preferences. The first preferences are then recalculated. The second elected representative is then appointed using the same procedure as in the case of the single-member alternative vote. All these operations are repeated until all the seats are filled. "
- "Thresholds are “fixed or variable limits, established using the election result, which determine whether a given list or a given candidate takes part in the distribution of seats”. They are in some way the equivalent of the thresholds used in the first round election in the majority system. This restriction on access to distribution generally applies to the award of seats in basic constituencies, but it may also be applied solely to groups of constituencies or to the distribution of remainders. "
- "The thresholds, which are generally expressed as a percentage of registered electors or of voters, are a matter for the discretion of the legislature. However, the role played by the thresholds differs depending on how high they have been set and on the party system existing in each country. The choice of a low threshold eliminates only very small parties, which makes it more difficult to build stable majorities in assemblies. Where there is strong fragmentation of the party system, a high threshold results in the exclusion from representation of a substantial proportion of votes. "
- "Universal suffrage means in principle that all human beings have the right to vote. This right may, however, and indeed should, be subject to certain conditions: a. Age: the right to vote must be subject to a minimum age but must be acquired, at the latest, at the age of majority. "