“Free and fair elections are an indispensable means for citizens to express their opinions and to be able to make decisions. Crises, disasters and wars raise challenges for organisers of elections to which there are sometimes no clear answers. Innovations, especially of a technological nature, promise answers, and they promise new, more representative forms of voting”.
Martin Candinas, President of the Swiss National Council
“The Council of Europe has a wide range of tools that our member states can trigger to ensure and implement the best electoral standards and practices, ranging from the European Convention of Human Rights to the invaluable standards and guidelines established by the Venice Commission or the Budapest Convention on Cybercrime. Our national Parliaments bear an important responsibility in providing legal frameworks compatible with our core values and oversighting, its implementation and may I again, at eve of the Reykjavik Summit underline the role of the Committee of Ministers to check whether member states do live up to their obligations to uphold democracy… I'm convinced that this conference will be another milestone on the road to reactivate our future activities in the field of elections.”
Tiny Kox, PACE President
Free and fair elections are the foundation on which our democracies are built. Yet election organisers face dramatic new pressures – be it from health pandemics such as Covid-19, the return of full-scale war to Europe, or terror attacks and natural disasters. And while technology promises new or more representative ways of voting, it brings dangers too, as powerful new AI and cyber tools expand the scope for pre-poll disinformation and manipulation.
The parliamentary conference on “Elections in times of crisis”, held on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of Switzerland to the Council of Europe, brought together some 130 representatives of key national and international bodies dealing with elections, as well as parliamentarians, to discuss the impact on elections of major crises such as the Covid pandemic, the war in Ukraine and other armed conflicts, new AI and cyber risks, ecological catastrophes, or civil unrest.
It provided an opportunity to explore the impact of these recent crises on holding elections, and to define policies that can effectively strengthen the resilience of democratic institutions to emergencies and make election processes more adaptable in a rapidly changing world, while protecting the integrity of the vote.
The pandemic and the polls – the impact of Covid-19 on elections
Universal suffrage amid universal suffering – how natural disasters distort elections
How to be fair in warfare? – the impact of armed conflict on elections
Does digital mean danger? – how electronic voting, AI and cyber are transforming elections
- Session 1: The pandemic and the polls – the impact of Covid-19 on elections
- Session 2: Universal suffrage amid universal suffering – how natural disasters distort elections
- Session 3 Panel 1: Upholding the integrity of elections in times of major security crisis
- Session 3 Panel 2: Suffrage after the cannons fall silent – Preparing Ukraine for its post-war elections
- Session 4 Panel 1: At the mercy of Digital: protecting the vote in the digital warfare
- Session 4 Panel 2: Harnessing the power of technology and innovation – rethinking electoral procedures
- Bern Conference all videos
A “road map” for handling elections in times of crisis – a new publication setting out the conclusions of May’s successful conference in Bern on this theme – was launched today at a reception marking the 60th anniversary of Switzerland’s accession to the Council of Europe.
The 58-page illustrated booklet, which can be downloaded here in English and French, sets out a series of conclusions and recommendations to governments on how to hold elections in extraordinary conditions, such as pandemics, warfare, terror attacks or natural disasters, and assesses the impact of new digital technologies on polling procedures.
It follows a major conference on this theme held on 9-10 May 2023 in the Swiss capital, hosted by the Swiss National Council, which brought together some 130 representatives of key international and national bodies dealing with elections.
Speaking at a launch event held during PACE’s autumn plenary session in Strasbourg, PACE President Tiny Kox said the publication marked “a road map for enhanced co-operation in the field of elections” and encouraged its wide use. He urged all sectors of the Council of Europe to continue working together on elections in the spirit of Bern.
Switzerland, he added, had “distinguished itself with a high level of commitment to Council of Europe principles and values” and had become a pillar of multilateral and parliamentary diplomacy during its 60 years in the organisation.
Damien Cottier, the head of the Swiss delegation to the Assembly, said the conference and publication represented Switzerland’s “concrete support for the organisation of free and fair elections in Council of Europe countries”. He reviewed the Swiss contribution to the organisation over the years – including that of leading Swiss personalities – and hailed the Council of Europe as “this extraordinary institution” which was aiming to build lasting peace.
