A parliamentary seminar on the misuse of administrative resources during electoral processes took place on 10-11 April in Tirana, Albania. The event was jointly organised by three Council of Europe bodies – the Parliamentary Assembly (PACE), the Venice Commission and the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities – for the parliaments of Albania and Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Stewart DICKSON (United Kingdom, ILDG), Congress Spokesperson on the Observation of Local and Regional Elections and member of the Council for Democratic Elections of the Venice Commission, spoke at the opening session on international texts and practices. He presented the list of criteria for compliance with international standards and good practices in this area. This list, approved by the Congress in 2017, aims to identify areas where there is a risk of misuse of administrative resources, to assess the implementation of the legal framework and to draw the attention of stakeholders to specific examples of such actions. The Congress of Local and Regional Authorities has just published a pocket booklet presenting these criteria.
The seminar built on the Council of Europe’s work to apply international standards and reinforce legal mechanisms in this area, and aimed to provide tailored guidance to members of parliament in reviewing national gaps and finding solutions to them in law and practice.
Participants included experts from the Venice Commission, PACE and Congress members with extensive experience of observing elections, and representatives of local authorities, civil society and other international partner organisations.
The seminar – the latest in a series of PACE activities to support the work of national parliaments – also forms part of the Council of Europe’s wider programme of assistance for the two countries concerned.
Documents:
- Stewart DICKSON: "Nous devons continuer à sensibiliser sur l'utilisation abusive des ressources administratives qui porte atteinte à l'équité des élections"
- Photos Flickr
- Programme
- Booklet: Administrative resources and fair elections, a practical guide for local and regional politicians and public officials (pdf)
- CG31(2016)07 final, Report on “The misuse of administrative resources during electoral processes: the role of local and regional elected representatives and public officials”;
- CG32(2017)12, Congress of Local and Regional Authorities, Checklist for compliance with international standards and good practices preventing misuse of administrative resources during electoral processes at local and regional level
Useful links:
