15/11/2011 | Monitoring
PACE Monitoring co-rapporteurs for Georgia, Michael Aastrup Jensen (Denmark, ALDE) and Kastriot Islami (Albania, SOC) today underscored that they did not recognize the legitimacy of the elections that were recently conducted in South Ossetia and reiterated their support for the territorial integrity of Georgia."The unilateral declaration of independence of the breakaway regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia is illegitimate under international law and therefore no legal or constitutional basis for these elections exists" they declared.
14/11/2011 | Legal Affairs and Human Rights
Marie-Louise Bemelmans-Videc (Netherlands, EPP/CD), PACE rapporteur on guaranteeing the authority and effectiveness of the ECHR, will address a conference held in the context of the UK Chairmanship of the Committee of Ministers entitled "2020 Vision for the European Court of Human Rights".
12/11/2011 | Election observation
A PACE delegation undertook a pre-election visit to Morocco to assess the campaign for the parliamentary elections due to take place on 25 November 2011. The delegation noted that the election campaign, which begins officially on 12 November, did not yet seem to have aroused much enthusiasm among the electorate, some two weeks before polling day. Some persons met by the delegation were concerned about the possibility of a low turn-out in the elections, as in 2007.
11/11/2011 | Election observation
More TV and radio debates, freer air-time and other campaigning possibilities for the seven parties participating in Russia’s parliamentary elections were cited as a significant change in the political process by most interlocutors who met the pre-electoral delegation of the PACE currently in Moscow. But the delegation was also told that major concerns remain about a level playing field in the election campaign.
10/11/2011 | President
“Election observation increases public confidence in the democratic process and the democratic institutions,” today stressed PACE President Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu in St. Petersburg, on the occasion of the seminar on elections monitoring organised by the Interparliamentary Assembly of the CIS member nations. “The presence of trusted observers pressure on the protagonists of the political process to set up a proper framework and respect the rules,” he said.
10/11/2011 | President
PACE President Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu is making an official visit to Algeria on 13-16 November. He will hold talks with, in particular, the President of the National People’s Assembly, the Chairman of the Council of the Nation, the Prime Minister and the Minister for Foreign Affairs. He will also meet the Chairman of the National Consultative Commission for the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights.
07/11/2011 | Election observation
A PACE delegation will travel to Rabat for a pre-electoral visit from 9 to 12 November 2011 ahead of its observations of the parliamentary elections in Morocco on 25 November. The delegation, led by Tomáš Jirsa (Czech Republic, EDG), will meet the Speakers of the Assembly of Representatives and the Assembly of Councillors, the chairs of the parliamentary groups, the Secretary of State at the Ministry of the Interior in charge of election administration...
04/11/2011 | Political Affairs and Democracy
A solution to the current stalemate in the North of Kosovo (*) lies in seeking a compromise, with all sides making concessions, said PACE’s rapporteur on the situation in Kosovo Björn von Sydow (Sweden, SOC), speaking at the end of a three-day visit to Kosovo. “A continued stand-off does not serve the medium or long-term interests of anyone involved,” said Mr von Sydow, speaking at a press conference today in Pristina.
03/11/2011 | President
"The promotion of human rights at local and regional level must be seen from an inter-institutional perspective and all Council of Europe bodies should seek to make best use of their respective competences and strengths, in order to foster synergies", PACE President said today in Kyiv adressing the Conference of Ministers Responsible for Local and Regional Government.
03/11/2011 | President
"In order to counteract the crisis of the mechanisms of representative democracy, we suggest exploring new mechanisms of participatory democracy in order to enable all to participate effectively in the conduct of public affairs at local, regional, national and European levels. This is necessary to boost social capital in our societies – reinforce trust in the political system as well as in the democratic decision-making process", PACE President said today in Kyiv addressing the students of the National University Taras Shevchenko.
31/10/2011 | Election observation
The presidential election in Kyrgyzstan was conducted in a peaceful manner, but shortcomings underscored that the integrity of the electoral process should be improved to consolidate democratic practice in line with international commitments, international observers concluded in a joint statement issued today.
29/10/2011 | Political Affairs and Democracy
Luca Volontè (Italy, EPP/CD), PACE rapporteur on the “Request for Partner for Democracy status with PACE by the Parliament of Morocco”, expressed his concern about the announcement last night, by the anti-terrorist court of Salé (Morocco), of the sentencing to death of the main accused in the bombing that killed 17 people late April in Marrakech.