23/02/2009 | Election observation
A PACE delegation comprising four members and led by Marietta de Pourbaix-Lundin (Sweden, EPP/CD), will go on a pre-electoral mission to Skopje on 26 and 27 February, ahead of the presidential election to take place in "the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia" on 22 March 2009. The delegation will meet the candidates standing for election, the President of the Republic, Branko Crvenkovski, the Deputy Speaker of the Assembly, Svetlana Jakimovska, the Minister of the Interior, Gordana Jankuloska, the Chairman of the State electoral committee, Aleksandar Novakovski, the delegation of "the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia" to PACE, as well as ambassadors and representatives of civil society and the media.
23/02/2009 | Election observation
A PACE delegation, comprising four members and led by Andreas Gross (Switzerland, SOC), will go on a pre-electoral mission to Podgorica on 24 and 25 February, ahead of the parliamentary elections to take place in Montenegro on 29 March 2008. The delegation will meet the Speaker of Parliament Ranko Krivokapic, representatives of the political parties running in these elections, the delegation of Montenegro to the PACE, the Chairman of the Central electoral committee Branislav Radulovic, as well as ambassadors and representatives of civil society and the media.
16/10/2008 | Election observation
Yesterday's presidential election in Azerbaijan marked considerable progress, but did not meet all of the country's international commitments, observers from the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), PACE and the European Parliament (EP) concluded in a joint statement published today. "While the voting day can be generally viewed positively and described as marking considerable progress, election observation is done against a broader background of human rights, democracy and the rule of law. In this connection, the issue of freedom of the media in Azerbaijan remains a source of further concern," said Andres Herkel, Head of the PACE delegation.
10/10/2008 | Election observation
A 26-member delegation from PACE led by Andres Herkel (Estonia, EPP/CD), is now in Azerbaijan to observe the presidential election of 15 October 2008, alongside observers from the European Parliament and the OSCE's Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR).
18/09/2008 | Election observation
A five-member, cross-party pre-election delegation from the PACE, visiting Azerbaijan ahead of October’s Presidential election, has noted improvements that should create conditions for a good election. Those improvements took account of a number of recommendations made by the Council of Europe’s Venice Commission, the delegation said. However, not of all of the recommendations were fully addressed. It nevertheless acknowledged that some key issues, such as equitable representation in electoral commissions or fairness in conducting the campaign, are more a matter of electoral practice than the letter of the law.
15/09/2008 | Election observation
A five-member PACE delegation consisting of one representative for each of the five political groups and headed by Andres Herkel (Estonia, EPP/CD) will be visiting Azerbaijan from 15 to 18 September 2008 in the run-up to the presidential election scheduled for 15 October.
16/07/2008 | Election observation
A two-member PACE post-electoral delegation to "the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia" has said it is encouraged by assurances that conclusions and recommendations made by the Assembly will "serve as guidelines" for the new Parliament in Skopje in its endeavours to overcome the problems that tarnished the 1 June parliamentary elections. But Mevlüt Çavušoglu (Turkey, EDG) and Andreas Gross (Switzerland, SOC), speaking at the end of a two-day visit, also deplored the boycott of Parliament by a major Albanian party, which they said put that party's electorate at a disadvantage.
11/07/2008 | Election observation
Two PACE members are to undertake a post-electoral mission to “the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia” on 14-16 July 2008 to assess developments in the country following the recent problematic parliamentary elections. Mevlüt Çavusoglu (Turkey, EDG), who headed the PACE delegation observing the 1 June elections and also observed the re-runs on 15 June, will be accompanied by Andreas Gross (Switzerland, SOC).
16/06/2008 | Election observation
"Yesterday's re-run elections gave voters in areas affected by serious irregularities on 1 June the opportunity to express their will in a secure and generally calmer environment, which represents considerable improvement over the 1 June election. Despite the efforts made by state institutions to ensure successful re-runs, cases of tensions and intimidation remained evident in the run up to and on 15 June", the International Election Observation Mission said today.
02/06/2008 | Election observation
Key international standards were not met in yesterday’s elections, as organised attempts to violently disrupt the electoral process in parts of the ethnic Albanian areas made it impossible for voters in many places to freely express their will, said the international election observation mission for the parliamentary elections in “the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia” in a statement released today.
29/05/2008 | Election observation
A PACE delegation, headed by Mevlüt Çavusoglu (Turkey, EDG), will observe the 1 June parliamentary elections in “the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia” alongside observers from the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly and the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR). The delegation, to be present in the country as from 30 May, is expected to meet members of the Central Electoral Commission and representatives of political parties, civil society and the media before it observes the ballot and the counting of votes in a sample of polling stations across the country.
22/05/2008 | Election observation
Political stakeholders in Georgia made efforts to conduct yesterday’s parliamentary elections in line with international standards, but a number of problems were identified which made their implementation uneven and incomplete, international observers said today. "The Georgian people expressed their political will in yesterday’s elections," said Mátyás Eörsi (Hungary, ALDE), head of the PACE delegation. "But despite improvements to the election environment these elections did not make full use of the democratic potential of Georgia."