14/09/2004 | Election observation
A ten-member Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly (PACE) delegation led by Tana de Zulueta (Italy, SOC) is to observe the parliamentary elections in Kazakhstan on 19 September. The president of the Central Electoral Commission issued the invitation to the Assembly in the framework of the co-operation agreement concluded by the Kazakh Parliament and PACE in April 2004 to promote parliamentary democracy, the rule of law and respect for human rights in the country.
22/06/2004 | Election observation
Terry Davis (United Kingdom, SOC) has been elected to serve a five-year term as Secretary General of the Council of Europe, following a vote by the Assembly. In the first round of the election, which took place today, 157 members of the Assembly voted for Mr Davis (an absolute majority), with 91 voting for Walter Schwimmer and 51 for Kristiina Ojuland. Mr Davis has been a member of the Parliamentary Assembly for twelve years, and President of the Socialist Group in the Assembly since 2002. For the last two years he has worked as the rapporteur on the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh for the Assembly’s Political Affairs Committee.
18/03/2004 | Election observation
The 28 March Parliamentary election in Georgia demonstrated commendable progress in relation to previous elections. However, the continued intimidation and physical abuse against opposition supporters and journalists in Adjara, casts a shadow over the overall progress in the election process, concludes the International Election Observation Mission. Matyas Eörsi, Head of the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly’s Delegation added that the Georgian paradox revealed promising elections with disconcerting effects. “This poll was better organized and more democratic than previous ones. Yet it almost resulted in a one-party parliament, which does reflect the will of the people, but cannot reflect the wide diversity of views indispensable for meaningful debates on Georgia’s future."
15/03/2004 | Election observation
The Russian Presidential Election on 14 March was generally well administered and reflected the consistently high public approval rating of the incumbent president but lacked elements of a genuine democratic contest. In addition to a dearth of meaningful debate and genuine pluralism, the election process failed to meet an important commitment concerning treatment by the state-controlled media, in particular television on a non-discriminatory basis. Those are the conclusions of the International Election Observation Mission.
05/03/2004 | Election observation
A 9-member, cross-party Assembly delegation headed by Rudolf Bindig (Germany, SOC) observed the presidential election in Russia on 14 March as part of an international election observation mission. The delegation met presidential candidates and the Chair of the Central Election Commission as well as journalists who have been covering the campaign and representatives of civil society, before deploying around the country on election day to observe polling.
27/02/2004 | Election observation
"The revolution has ended; the new government is now in place. The new authorities came to power promising firmly to establish pluralist democracy in Georgia. The forthcoming parliamentary elections are a crucial test of Georgia’s progress on the road to democracy and will, in large measure, define the relationship and nature of the dialogue between Georgia and the Council of Europe." Giving its conclusions at the end of a four-day “pre-election” visit to Georgia (25-28 February 2004), an Assembly delegation therefore expressed its great concern that the new authorities have not followed up on crucial recommendations it made after the last elections or that were outlined in the resolution adopted by the Assembly during its plenary session in Strasbourg in January 2004.
19/02/2004 | Election observation
A five-member, cross-party Assembly delegation, headed by Mátyás Eörsi (Hungary, LDR), will make a “pre-election” visit to Georgia from 25 to 28 February to assess preparations for the parliamentary elections on 28 March. In a January 2004 resolution, the Assembly called for “tangible progress” in these preparations, including measures to ensure more balanced representation on election commissions, simplified voting procedures and secrecy of the vote as well as revision of the voters’ list. A full delegation of up to 30 Assembly members will observe the polling as part of an international election observation mission.