Promoting Conditions for Free and Fair Election Campaigns in the Western Balkans

ODIHR and the OSCE Mission to Montenegro are organizing a conference to exchange experiences and draw conclusions for follow-up action that aims to improve the conduct of election campaigns and the overall environment in which elections are held. The conference is part of the ODIHR Support to Electoral Reforms in the Western Balkans project funded by the European Union and the Austrian Development Agency.

Topics

The event will comprise presentations and discussions in several areas:

1. General introduction to ODIHR observation and assessment of election campaign environments. This will include a review of the standards and principles relevant to election campaigns and an overview of the main challenges in the Western Balkans.
2. Strengthening conditions for a free and fair campaign environment. This session will focus on reporting and addressing instances of undue pressure on voters and countering negative campaign rhetoric.
3. Ensuring equal campaign opportunities for electoral contestants. This session will look at the undue use of incumbent benefits and the misuse of administrative resources.
4. Promoting the participation of under-represented groups (women, national minorities and persons with disabilities) in the election campaign. This session will include lessons learned from activities led by international and civil society organizations.
5. Promoting equal access and unbiased coverage of election campaigns in the media. This session will examine the challenges around oversight of media coverage of electoral campaign activities, including online.

Context

All OSCE participating States have committed in the 1990 OSCE Copenhagen Document to ensuring conditions that allow voters to make an informed choice and for contestants to enjoy a free and fair campaign environment and equitable opportunities to compete. Respect for these key principles is also enshrined in international treaties, including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the United Nations (UN) International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. These, alongside other international human rights documents, form a framework for the conduct of election campaigns. This framework requires access to and respect for the freedoms of expression, assembly, association and movement, the right to liberty and security of the person, and obliges state authorities to promote equal treatment of all contestants, prevent abuse of state resources and combat any forms of violence and intimidation.

A number of international election observation reports from the Western Balkans region note that election campaigns are often conducted in such a way that administrative actions, intimidation and violence prevent parties and candidates from freely presenting their views. Actions like these undermine the free and fair atmosphere of campaigns and negatively affects voters’ ability to make an informed choice. As election campaigns increasingly move online and modern technologies are developed that have an impact on elections (e.g., deceptive AI-generated content), challenges to ensuring a free and fair campaign environment and level playing field have further expanded.

This is the seventh regional conference organized by the Support to Electoral Reforms in the Western Balkans project.

Participants     

• Election management bodies
• Campaign oversight bodies
• Civil society organizations, including citizen election observation groups
• Local and international experts

Participation in this event is by invitation only.

Contact

For further information, please contact the Support to Electoral Reforms in the Western Balkans project team at [email protected].