17th European Conference of Electoral Management Bodies

 

“Electoral law and electoral administration in Europe – Recurrent challenges and best practices”

 

Online public event, 12-13 November 2020

 

Thursday, 12 November 2020

14.00-17.45 Strasbourg/Paris time (check your time zone here)

 

13.30-14.00 – Time allowed to access the Kudo interface

 

14.00-14.30 – Opening session

Theodoros Livanios, Deputy Minister of Interior of Greece (speech)

Gianni Buquicchio, President of the Venice Commission of the Council of Europe (speech)

 

14.30-15.00 – Inaugural speech: The recurrent challenges and the best practices in electoral law and electoral administration in Europe

Moderated by Pierre Garrone, Head of the Elections and Political Parties' Division of the Venice Commission 

Electoral law and electoral administration in Europe – Overview of the recurrent challenges and best practices – Richard Barrett, member of the Venice Commission, Ireland (see the Report CDL-AD(2020)023) (speech)

15.00-15.30 – Break

 

15.30-16.15 – First session: The role of EMBs in preventing and responding to recurrent irregularities during campaigns and voting operations

Co-moderated by Pierre Garrone, Head of the Elections and Political Parties' Division of the Venice Commission and Gaël Martin-Micallef, Legal Officer, Elections and Political Parties Division of the Venice Commission 

The establishment of an electoral commission in Ireland – Martin Hehir, Assistant Principal, Franchise Unit, Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage of Ireland (no presentation available)

How to prevent and respond to recurrent irregularities during voting operations in Mexico – Lorenzo Córdova Vianello, President of the National Electoral Institute, Mexico (presentation)

How to prevent and respond to recurrent irregularities during campaigns in Mexico – José Luis Vargas Valdez, Chief Justice at the Federal Electoral Tribunal of Mexico (speech)

Discussion

16.15-17.00 – Second session: The role of EMBs to prevent or respond to irregularities or malpractice regarding counting, tabulation and transmission of election results

Moderated by Oliver Kask, Judge, President of the Council for Democratic Elections, Member of the Venice Commission, Estonia

Counting and tabulation procedures: the Belgian project to avoid human mistakes – Régis Trannoy, Head of Elections Unit at the Directorate General Institutions & Population (French, Dutch or German only) of the Federal Public Service Home Affairs of Belgium (no presentation available)

Solutions of the Swedish Election Authority to prevent irregularities with regard to election results and the consequences on trust in elections – Anna Nyqvist, Director of the Election Authority, Sweden (presentation)

Discussion

 

17.00-17.45 – Third session: Holding elections during emergency situations – Challenges met and solutions found by the EMBs during the pandemic, part I

Moderated by Gaël Martin-Micallef, Legal Officer, Elections and Political Parties Division of the Venice Commission 

Under which conditions can elections be held under emergency situations? Reflections issued from 2020 Venice Commission’s reports on the matter (CDL-PI(2020)005rev & CDL-AD(2020)018) – Oliver Kask, Judge, President of the Council for Democratic Elections, Member of the Venice Commission, Estonia (Speech)

Practical implications of holding elections during a pandemic in the context of the Moldovan elections – Corneliu Pasat, Deputy Head of Communication, Public Relations and Media Department, Central Election Commission of the Republic of Moldova (presentation)

Presentation of the Congress Report on “Local and regional elections in major crisis situations” – Stewart Dickson, Member of the Northern Ireland Legislative Assembly, Representative of the Chamber of the Regions, Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe (speech)

Discussion 

Friday, 13 November 2020

14.00-17.00 Strasbourg/Paris time (check your time zone here)

 

14.00-16.00 – Fourth session: Holding elections during emergency situations – Challenges met and solutions found by the EMBs during the pandemic, part II

Moderated by Stewart Dickson, Member of the Northern Ireland Legislative Assembly, Representative of the Chamber of the Regions, Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe

Practical implications of organising and holding elections during the COVID-19 pandemic in Montenegro – Aleksa Ivanović, Chairman of the State Election Commission of Montenegro (speech)

IFES Covid-related responses in the elections in Serbia, North Macedonia, Kyrgyzstan, Ukraine and Georgia – Beata Martin-Rozumiłowicz, Regional Director for Europe and Eurasia at the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES) (presentation)

International electoral standards pertaining to alternative voting methods – Alexander Shlyk, Head of Election Department of the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human rights of the OSCE (OSCE/ODIHR) (presentation)

Discussion 

16.00-16.30 – Break

 

16.30-17.00 – Closing session: Discussion on and adoption of the conclusions of the 17th European Conference of Electoral Management Bodies

Moderated by Simona Granata-Menghini, Acting Director, Secretary of the Venice Commission (a.i.) of the Council of Europe

Draft conclusions of the Conference presented by Rasto Kuzel, General Rapporteur of the Conference, Executive Director at MEMO 98, Slovak Republic

Discussion and adoption