Jos WIENEN (Netherlands, EPP/ECC) and Stewart DICKSON (United Kingdom, ILDG), the Congress Spokespersons on the Observation of Local and Regional Elections, took part in the 61st meeting of the Council for Democratic Elections in Venice on 15 March 2018. Jos WIENEN presented the preliminary draft report on voting rights at local level, which focuses on the international standards with regard to voting rights of displaced persons and non-citizens, the major challenges to the implementation of such rights and the diversity of approaches chosen by Council of Europe member states in this respect.
In a context of increasing mass migration in the Council of Europe member states, for political, humanitarian and socio-economic reasons, more and more people have settled or been re-settled in countries and regions other than their countries and regions of origin. Voting encourages migrants and displaced persons to participate actively in the life of their community and may therefore be seen as a natural starting point for successful long-term integration.
This report will be submitted to the Congress Monitoring Committee in June 2018 and to the 34th Congress Session for adoption in November 2018.
On 16 March 2018, the Chair of the Congress Monitoring Committee, Leendert VERBEEK (SOC, Netherlands), will take part in the 114th Plenary Session of the Venice Commission and present an overview of Congress activities concerning the monitoring of local and regional democracy and the observation of local elections.
