Fuente: © European Parliament
http://www.europarl.eu.int/

EU: EU election observation missions: objectives, practices and future challenges

/noticias.info/ The report on election observation missions is the first of its kind, and supports the EU's observation missions, underlining how crucial they are, especially in developing countries. The European Parliament wants to increase its role especially in the immediate post-election period when the new parliaments are called, and legislators need advice on how to function in a democracy.

The report was drafted by José Ignacio SALAFRANCA SÁNCHEZ-NEYRA (EPP-ED, ES) and Véronique DE KEYSER (PES, BE) and considers that in absolute terms the holding of elections cannot be regarded as the sole indicator of democracy, but that, nevertheless, it has a positive effect on the democratisation process as measured by improvements in civil liberties, provided that political pluralism, freedom of assembly and association, freedom of expression, equal access to the media, secret ballots and respect for human rights are secured.

European Consensus on Democracy

The European Parliament regrets that the EU still lacks a common, comprehensive strategy for promoting democracy, and urges all EU institutions and Member States to continue their efforts to make possible the adoption of such a strategy. The House, in this regard, urges all EU institutions and Member States to agree to establish a European Consensus on Democracy.

The report condemns the recent imposition by certain OSCE participating States of restrictions on the duration of Election Observation Missions (EOM) and their refusal to issue, or delay in issuing, visas for observers, which has made it impossible for the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights to fulfil its mandate.

Public statements and press conferences

The report stresses, in particular, the importance of coordinating all public statements related to the findings of EU EOMs and avoiding the issue of any statement in advance of the presentation by the EU EOM of its preliminary statement, and underlines the key role played in terms of visibility and credibility by the press conference, where the preliminary statement is presented for the first time. The report calls for both the press statements and reports of findings to be released in accordance with a timetable which takes into account the electoral sensitivities on the ground.

"Business as usual"

The report condemns past examples of practices consisting of a "business as usual" attitude towards countries in respect of which EU EOMs have been severely critical of the electoral process, regrets, on the other hand, that democratic elections are not always legitimated by the EU, and believes that these inconsistencies undermine the fragile idea of democracy in these countries and the image of the EU. notas_de_prensa_archivo