Summary
The election management process should be transparent.
Election Parts
Quotes
- 1. The preparation and conduct of elections shall be executed openly and publicly. 2. Decisions of electoral bodies, state authorities and local self-governments, made within the framework of their competence related to setting of the term, preparation to and conducting of elections, to provision of and protection of the citizen's voting rights and freedoms, are, in an obligatory manner, subject to official publishing, or they are publicised in another way, in accordance with the procedure and in terms stipulated by laws.
- Public service and administration shall make available to users information on procedures and formalities pertaining to public service delivery
- The Court has also emphasised that it is important for the authorities in charge of electoral administration to function in a transparent manner and to maintain impartiality and independence from political manipulation (see Georgian Labour Party v. Georgia, no. 9103/04, § 101, ECHR 2008) and for their decisions to be sufficiently well reasoned (see Namat Aliyev, cited above, §§ 81-90).
- As a corollary to the above principle, and recalling that the rights guaranteed by Article 3 of Protocol No. 1 are crucial to establishing and preserving the foundations of a meaningful democracy (see Mathieu-Mohin and Clerfayt v. Belgium, 2 March 1987, § 47, Series A no. 113), the Court finds it particularly important for an agency in charge of electoral administration to function in a transparent manner and to maintain impartiality and independence from political manipulation.
- The Court has emphasised that it is important for the authorities in charge of electoral administration to function in a transparent manner and to maintain impartiality and independence from political manipulation (see The Georgian Labour Party v. Georgia, no. 9103/04, § 101, 8 July 2008), that the proceedings conducted by them be accompanied by minimum safeguards against arbitrariness and that their decisions are sufficiently reasoned (see, mutatis mutandis, Namat Aliyev, cited above, §§ 81-90, and Kovach, cited above, §§ 59-60).
- The Court has emphasised that it is important for the authorities in charge of electoral administration to function in a transparent manner and to maintain impartiality and independence from political manipulation (see The Georgian Labour Party v. Georgia, no. 9103/04, § 101, 8 July 2008), that the proceedings conducted by them be accompanied by minimum safeguards against arbitrariness and that their decisions are sufficiently reasoned (see, mutatis mutandis, Namat Aliyev, cited above, §§ 81-90, and Kovach, cited above, §§ 59-60).
- The Court has emphasised that it is important for the authorities in charge of electoral administration to function in a transparent manner and to maintain impartiality and independence from political manipulation (see The Georgian Labour Party v. Georgia, no. 9103/04, § 101, 8 July 2008), that the proceedings conducted by them be accompanied by minimum safeguards against arbitrariness and that their decisions are sufficiently reasoned (see, mutatis mutandis, Namat Aliyev, cited above, §§ 81-90, and Kovach, cited above, §§ 59-60).
- Urges States parties to ensure that their public service is aligned with the principles outlined in the Convention, including, inter alia, efficiency, transparency and objective criteria in recruitment, the promotion of integrity, honesty and responsibility and adherence to codes of conduct for public officials.
- Member states should guarantee the right of everyone to have access, on request, to official documents held by public authorities. This principle should apply without discrimination on any ground, including that of national origin.
- Calls upon States parties to put effective processes in place to promote transparency, competition and objective decision-making in public procurement systems, in line with article 9 of the Convention, and to take into consideration the anti-corruption-related recommendations contained in the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law Model Law on Public Procurement.
- Member states should guarantee the right of everyone to have access, on request, to official documents held by public authorities. This principle should apply without discrimination on any ground, including that of national origin.
- Democratic elections should be conducted by…c) accountable electoral institutions….
- We, Ministers and Heads of Delegation of the States and Governments of Countries using French as a common language, (…) 4 - Undertake the following commitments: (…) B. For the holding of free, fair and transparent elections (...) 8. To ensure that the organization of elections, from the preparatory stage through the election campaign to the counting of votes and the proclamation of results, including, where required, the resolution of any disputes, is conducted in full transparency and is handled by credible bodies whose independence is recognized by all.
- We, Ministers and Heads of Delegation of the States and Governments of Countries using French as a common language, (…) 4 - Undertake the following commitments: (…) B. For the holding of free, fair and transparent elections (...) 8. To ensure that the organization of elections, from the preparatory stage through the election campaign to the counting of votes and the proclamation of results, including, where required, the resolution of any disputes, is conducted in full transparency and is handled by credible bodies whose independence is recognized by all.
- Principle of transparency 1. Public authorities shall act in accordance with the principle of transparency. 2. They shall ensure that private persons are informed, by appropriate means, of their actions and decisions which may include the publication of official documents. 3. They shall respect the rights of access to official documents according to the rules relating to personal data protection.
- Obviously, it might be helpful if observers are formally accredited and the accreditation criteria stipulated clearly. Cumbersome and complex registration procedures for observers should be avoided.
- When all meetings of the election administration are open, transparency is greatly enhanced, thereby contributing to public confidence in the system. Alternatively, election administration bodies should publish their decisions immediately upon delivery and provide regular and timely briefings for the media.
- The rules of procedure must be clear. Commissions’ activities and decisions must be transparent, inclusive and consensus oriented, but at the same time the effectiveness of the electoral administration should not be hampered by endless debates or even dead-lock situations. A way has to be found to combine the best possible transparency, inclusiveness and effectiveness of the electoral administration at the same time. Depending on what the specific problems of a country’s electoral management are, recommendations focus on different, sometimes even contradictory, aspects.
- Only transparency, impartiality and independence from politically motivated manipulation will ensure proper administration of the election process, from the pre-election period to the end of the processing of results.
- While awareness that the pre-election period should be comprehensively observed is increasing, the post-election process is frequently neglected. International observers, for example, often depart from a country shortly after election day and long before the declaration of final results. However, it is important that some observer presence remains until the verification and announcement of the final results. Correspondingly, the electoral rules should specify that observers have a role and a right to observe the post-election period and have a right of access to electoral commissions until all the electoral tasks are completed (as for Azerbaijan, CDL-AD(2004)016rev; CDL-AD(2005)029).
- It is a good practice for election-administration bodies to publish their decisions immediately upon delivery and provide regular and timely briefings for the media.
- The electoral laws or instructions given by electoral administration bodies should clarify which persons are authorised to be in the polling stations. Besides the voters and the polling station officials, authorised persons are usually representatives (agents, proxies) of candidates or political parties/ alliances, domestic and, if invited, international observers, and the media. However, there is always the risk that unauthorised persons are present inside the polling station, too. In a number of elections, observers reported the presence of unauthorized persons due to unclear instructions given to electoral officials or failures to implement respective rules.
- Observation of elections b. Observation must not be confined to election day itself, but must include the registration period of candidates and, if necessary, of electors, as well as the electoral campaign. It must make it possible to determine whether irregularities occurred before, during or after the elections. It must always be possible during vote counting.
- The basic consideration is to cloth the administration in a high degree of functional autonomy and operational independence.
- An electoral commission’s role lies at the heart of the concept of transparency in election organization. It is this body which often has the responsibility for the organization, superintendence and control of elections. It is thus uniquely placed to develop through its practices and procedures a culture of openness, transparency and consultation that can—and should—infuse the whole electoral process. All aspects of the electoral commission’ establishment, composition, status and functions are relevant to the matter of the transparency of the election processes.
- The correctness of the count depends on clear procedures, adequate staff training and their commitment to the process. The correctness of the results does not only refer to the vote share of each candidate, party or electoral alliance. It refers also to the accuracy of the whole electoral data, including, for instance, the number of votes cast (which is especially important in those countries where a minimum turnout is needed for elections or referendums to be valid). Great care must be taken to ensure that all figures are accurately recorded in election protocols.
- States should take all necessary and appropriate measures to ensure the transparency of the entire electoral process including, for example, through the presence of party agents and duly accredited observers.
- Both national and international observers should be given the widest possible opportunity to observe the elections. Observation cannot be confined to election day itself, but must include the whole electoral process, from the registration of candidates (and, if necessary, voters) to the post-election period. However, the observers’ right to attend all election commission meetings, observe the election activities at all times, and obtain copies of protocols, tabulations, minutes, and other documents at all levels is not always guaranteed by law or in practice.
- Whatever the legal basis for the establishment of an electoral body, its members should be appointed in a manner which ensures that they enjoy the confidence of both public and political parties alike. The electoral body and its members should be subject only to the Constitution and the law of the land; they should be removable only for cause; and ideally they should not be persons whose further career advancement may be dependent on their performance on the electoral body. They should be served by a secretariat accountable entirely to the electoral body. Accountability of the electoral body directly to Parliament is preferable to accountability through the executive government.
- Freedom of voters to express their wishes also implies: iii. the right to accurate establishment of the result by the body responsible for organising the referendum, in a transparent manner, and formal publication in the official gazette.
- 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.
- The overall credibility of an electoral process is substantially dependent on all relevant groups, from government to civil society, participating in the formation and functioning of electoral structures and processes. In this respect, the value of constant consultation, communication and co-operation among the electoral administration, the political parties and the institutions of society cannot be over emphasized. In the formulation of the legislative framework of an electoral administration, this aspect should receive particular attention.
- [E]lectronic voting should be used only if it is safe and reliable; in particular, voters should be able to obtain a confirmation of their votes and to correct them, if necessary, respecting secret suffrage; the system must be transparent.
- The presence of electoral observers is of paramount importance for the integrity of the electoral process. While the free access of proxies and observers to polling stations is generally respected in almost all European countries (Belarus being an exception until recently), in several occasions proxies and observers had problems to enter the polling stations or move freely inside. The small size and the over-crowding of polling stations has often been used as a justification for restricting the movement of proxies and observers. It should be clear, however, that the inappropriateness of the polling station cannot be used as an excuse for restricting the observers’ free movement. Instead, it is the obligation of the electoral authorities to select and prepare polling stations in such a manner that an effective observation is possible without hindering the polling station activities.
- A national election administration, such as a central election commission or equivalent body, is usually responsible for administering an election. Occasionally, the judiciary may oversee the election process. Whichever body is constituted to administer a particular election, its work should be…transparent.
- All electoral activities, including the decision-making process, the legal process and the organization of events, should be conducted in a wholly transparent manner.
- Although an electoral body should enjoy independence from direction or control, whether from the government or any other quarter, it is accountable to the electorate within the law, and should act accordingly.
- All meetings should be announced in a timely manner, with all relevant documents equally conveyed to all members of the commission in sufficient time to be considered prior to the session.
- The same refers to the polling station layout – i.e. the positioning of tables for polling station procedures, barriers for voter queues, voting booths, ballot boxes, etc. – which should ensure the effective flow of voters through the polling station and the secrecy of the vote. It is very important that polling station members (as well as the observers) have an effective overview of all staff and voter activity. For example, it is quite problematic if voting booths cannot be supervised by polling station members because they are completely out of sight or even placed in different rooms.
- The meetings of the central electoral commission should be open to everyone, including the media (this is another reason why speaking time should be limited). Any computer rooms, telephone links, faxes, scanners, etc. should be open to inspection.
- Principles guiding the work of electoral authorities can be summarized as…transparency at all the stages of the electoral process.
- Principles guiding the work of electoral authorities can be summarized as…accountability before the legislature and the public.
- Transparency in this context covers a wide range of decision-making issues by the election management team. It embraces meetings with each political party contesting an election, release of information on a timely basis on major developments in the preparatory stages of an election, affording an opportunity to political parties to object to the appointment of individual staff members and election officers and the taking of appropriate remedial action where an objection is found to be justified.
- In the long-standing democracies where there are no electoral commissions but where another impartial body is competent in electoral matters, political parties must be able to observe the work of that body.
- Each public body and relevant private body must publish the following information produced by or in relation to that body within 30 days of the information being generated or received by that body: manuals, policies, procedures or rules or similar instruments which have been prepared for, or are used by, officers of the body in discharging that body’s functions, exercising powers and handling complaints, making decisions or recommendations or providing advice to persons outside the body with respect to rights, privileges or benefits, or to obligations, penalties or other detriments, to or for which persons may be entitled.
- An electoral body, however styled…must…act with…a maximum of transparency, where appropriate consulting in a meaningful way with interested parties before decisions are taken on important matters and being prepared to give reasons for such decisions.
- Public bodies and relevant private bodies must proactively publish information.
- Election commissions should operate in an open and transparent manner. All aspects of their work should be open to scrutiny. Transparency can be achieved in a number of way, including party representation on commissions, providing access for media and observers, and by the prompt publication of decisions.
- Electoral observation plays an important role in insuring transparency in elections, particularly in emerging and new democracies. The guarantee of domestic and international observers’ rights in the electoral law has been repeatedly demanded in cases where they are missing. (Such provisions might also be adopted in many established West European democracies, like France or Spain, which do not have any regulation on non-partisan domestic and international observers at all.) Especially the rights of domestic non-partisan observers need to be enhanced in a number of cases. Even if observer rights are guaranteed in the law, sometimes there is a lack of clarity of rules, resulting in widely differing interpretations of the regulations.
- Election administrators should be prepared: (i) To justify their decisions. (ii) To make freely available the information on which each decision was based. (iii) To arrange effective and reasonable access to relevant documents and information, within the framework of the country’s electoral and freedom of information laws. 17. In addition, election administrators and administrators should: (i) Ensure that the agents of each political party or candidate can fully and effectively exercise their legal rights. (ii) Consult with participants in the electoral process on a regular basis, and in relation to specific decisions, if it is appropriate to do so in the circumstances. (iii) Provide an explanation, in response to reasonable requests, for a decision they have made as part of the electoral process, or a decision made as part of the general operation of the election administration. (iv) Establish a system that allows interested parties to access, in a timely manner, all critical information, documents, and databases used in an election process, or used in the normal operation of the election administration. (v) Disclose any deficiency in the administration of an election if it comes to their attention.