28/04/2026 President | New Democratic Pact | Election observation
For more than thirty years, “the Assembly together with the Venice Commission and the Congress has not only monitored elections. We have helped shape electoral legislation, guided democratic reforms, and strengthened public trust in democratic institutions,” said PACE President Petra Bayr today, opening a joint debate in Paris on the role of election observers.
“When elections are credible, democracy is credible,” she emphasised, referring to a possible “coherent, binding international legal framework on election observation” that would guarantee the status, rights and protection of observers across all 46 member states. Indeed, “their work depends entirely on being given the access, the protection and the legal guarantees to do their job,” even in the event of emergencies, pandemic, natural disaster or war, she added.
The PACE President also recalled the creation of the Parliamentary Alliance for Free and Fair Elections in in 2024 – formally named in 2025 – “as a unique network of PACE election observers”. This initiative aims to build collective capacity: “fostering exchange, promoting Council of Europe standards, and formally representing PACE in external forums,” she underlined.
“If elections are the foundation of democracy, then election observers are among its guardians.” Therefore, “we must ensure that observers are given the status, the protection and the means they need to fulfil that role,” Ms Bayr concluded.
Gunn Marit Helgesen, President of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities, and Marta Cartabia, President of the Venice Commission, also made opening addresses.
This debate was jointly organised by the Parliamentary Assembly, the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities and the Venice Commission of the Council of Europe, within the framework the New Democratic Pact for Europe.
