552 Results
Quotes
Quotes based on international documents, law, and treaties- "The legal framework should require periodic reporting, related to reasonable time intervals, of all contributions received and expenditures made by an electoral contestant. However, the examiner should be realistic about the reporting requirements for any transition democracy."
- "The legal framework for party and candidate financing should include provisions for disclosure, reporting, monitoring and enforcement."
- "The authorities should ensure that the media have the right to gather and report information freely, without intimidation or obstruction, and that there is no censorship of either the media or candidates."
- "Each state party shall take appropriate measures, within its means and in accordance with fundamental principles of its domestic law, to promote the active participation of individuals and groups outside the public sector, such as civil society, non-governmental organizations and community-based organizations, in the prevention of and the fight against corruption and to raise public awareness regarding the existence, causes and gravity of the threat posed by corruption. This participation should be strengthened by such measures as: (b) Ensuring that the public has effective access to information; (d) Respecting, promoting and protecting the freedom to seek, receive, publish and disseminate information concerning corruption. That freedom may be subject to certain restriction, but these shall be such as are provided for by law and are necessary."
- "The observance of the principle of universal suffrage means: d) every citizen is guaranteed the right to receive information on their inclusion into the voters’ list, to correct that information in order to assure its completeness and reliability, to appeal by the procedure stipulated by laws against refusal to be included in the voters’ list."
- "Such data must be processed fairly for the specified purposes and on the basis of the consent of the person concerned or some other legitimate basis laid down by law. Everyone has the right of access to data which has been collected concerning him or her and the right to have it rectified."
- "The authorities should ensure that the preliminary and final voter registers are published and that copies are available for public inspection to allow checks for inaccuracies and omissions. Political parties, in particular, should have an opportunity to access the full voter register."
- "Transparency requires that voter registers be public documents that can be monitored and made available for inspection at no cost to the requester. The legal framework should clearly specify who may inspect voter registers, how the inspection will take place, and the period when voter registers are available for public inspection."
- "No matter what system is employed for creating and maintaining a voter list, it is necessary for the system to be transparent and open to verification by voters, political contestants, and election observers."
- "Transparency requires that voter registers must be public documents that are available for inspection, without cost to the requester. The legal framework should clearly specify who may inspect, how the inspection will occur, and during what periods voter registers are available for public inspection."
- "Personal data undergoing automatic processing shall be: a. obtained and processed fairly and lawfully; b. stored for specified and legitimate purposes and not used in a way incompatible with those purposes; c.adequate, relevant and not excessive in relation to the purposes for which they are stored; accurate and, where necessary, kept up to date; d. preserved in a form which permits identification of the data subjects for no longer than is required for the purpose for which those data are stored."
- "Everyone who offers proof of identity has the right to know whether information concerning him is being processed and to obtain it in an intelligible form, without undue delay or expense, and to have appropriate rectifications or erasures made in the case of unlawful, unnecessary or inaccurate entries, and when it is being communicated, addresses. Provision should be made for a remedy, if need be with the supervisory authority specified in principle 8 below. The cost of any rectification shall be borne by the person responsible for the file. It is desirable that the provisions of this principle should apply to everyone, irrespective of nationality or place of residence."
- "The voter registration process is administered in such a way so as to ensure that persons belonging to a national minority may register without difficulty or material cost. The following kinds of administrative issues are implicated under this head: – So far as is feasible, the registration forms and any explanatory documentation should be in the language of the national minority."
- "[E]lectoral registers must be published;"
- "Clear rules must be established for voting in polling stations, as well as other methods of voting, that include safeguards for secret balloting and that provide for monitoring by political contestants and election observers."
- "Candidates or political parties shall have the right to be represented at polling and counting stations by duly designated agents or representatives."
- "It is particularly important to guarantee the possibility of all parties and candidates to have observers during the election day. In this respect, it is evident that parties have some elements –permanent organization, membership, and so on- which help them in this task, and that are much more difficult to dispose of for other non-partisan candidates. These observers must have the right to control all the spheres of the voting process (polling boxes, election committees at all levels), to intervene – at least, to be heard- in the resolution of possible conflicts which may arise, and to inform the parties which they represent about the problems during the observation so that the latter could lodge appeals against any decision not grounded in legal terms."
- "Accredited agents of political parties and candidates, as well as accredited international and domestic observers, should be permitted to observe all polling activities."
- "The legal framework must address a myriad of issues to ensure a genuine opportunity to exercise the right to vote on the basis of equal and universal suffrage. These issues concern conditions outside the polling sites, as well as inside it, before, during and after voting takes place. The provisions must ensure, among other things, that: ...Transparency mechanisms allow effective monitoring by political parties, candidates, groups supporting and opposing referenda and other ballot initiatives, domestic nonpartisan election monitors, news media and international election observers."
- "The security of ballot boxes must be guaranteed and votes should be counted in the presence of the candidates or their agents."
- "Results should be verified by party counting agents, who should be asked formally to sign the result they have witnessed and be given a copy of the form signed by the presiding officer and the party counting agents. Party counting agents have a responsibility to remain until the end of a count, to observe the count by personnel appointed by the management body and to sign any correct tally, or else give reasons in writing for their objecting so to do."
- "The existence of adequate and impartial arrangements for representatives of all political parties to watch the count; those representatives should not interfere with the count, but should be able to comment if they are dissatisfied."
- "The counting place, be it at the polling station, a constituency center or other centre, should be so organized as to allow the candidates and/or party agents and observers (if any) to see the counting proceedings directly."
- "Procedures for counting should be known to those election officials, party agents, observers and any other authorized persons who are permitted to be present during the count."
- "The legal framework should provide for the presence of the representatives of parties and candidates and election observers during the counting, tabulation and consolidation of votes."
- "The counting process should be transparent and easily verifiable. Candidates' proxies or agents, domestic and international observers and the media should have the right to observe the whole counting process including, where applicable, the tabulation of votes."
- "If the count is done at the polling station, the full count should be observed to the end."
- "Accredited observers are entitled to observe the count."
- "The legal framework should provide for the presence of observers, domestic and foreign, and representatives of the media, political parties and candidates, during the counting and tabulation of votes."
- "Regardless of whether ballots are counted at the polling station or a central counting location, ballots must be counted in the presence of observers."
- "Ensure the transparency of the entire electoral process by facilitating the deployment of representatives of political parties and individual candidates at polling and counting stations by accrediting national and/other observers/monitors."
- "...[C]andidates and agents should be allowed to remain with the boxes from closure of polling station to counting of the votes."
- "Counting should be open to official observation by concerned parties."
- "The counting process shall accurately count the votes. The counting of votes shall be reproducible."
- "There shall be the possibility for a recount. Other features of the e-voting system that may influence the correctness of the result shall be verifiable."
- "There should be opportunities to seek a remedy in the event of objections against decisions or activities of the counting staff."
- "Candidates and political parties have the right to challenge the validity of election results."
- "The legal framework should ensure, among other things, that: ...Ballots are opened in a manner that permits verification of their validity or ruling about invalidity."
- "In assessing the counting processes...evaluation should be based upon the degree to which: (2) ballots that are ruled invalid (spoiled, void or null) or irregular (sometimes called challenged or tendered) are properly identified and, ideally, preserved for review."
- "The reliability of the count, double counting and storing of ballots for later verification are to be observed."
- "Voted ballots and counting sheets (protocols) should be stored in a secure place, at least for a period of time sufficient for the final resolution of all election appeals."
- "The legal framework should provide, in clear and objective language, the procedures for transferring the protocol results of counting, ballots, and election materials from lower election commissions to intermediate and higher election commissions for tabulation and safekeeping."
- "The tabulation of results should be verifiable and transparent at all levels of the election administration."
- "Counting should be open to official observation by concerned parties. All issued, unissued and damaged ballot papers must be systematically accounted for. The processes for counting votes, verification, reporting of results and retention of official materials must be secure and fair. Re-count procedures should be available in case of questionable results. Finally, alternative, independent verification procedures, such as parallel vote tabulation, can be a valuable measure contributing to public confidence in, and acceptance of, the outcome of polling."
- "When the counting process is completed the results should immediately be announced and posted at the counting station."
- "The electoral legislation should establish a specific time frame in which results must be announced, in order to reduce uncertainty and minimise potential conflict or fraud."
- "The legal framework should provide for such timely publication of results."
- "The announcement of results should be expeditious, and the information that is published should be complete (including the actual numbers of votes cast, and not just percentages."
- "Observers should try to obtain copies of the official tabulated results sheets or protocols from each level of the tabulation process."
- "There should be immediate release of official election results on completion of counting."