2024 European Parliament elections: ODIHR election observation mission final report

The 2024 European Parliament elections were genuinely competitive, with fundamental freedoms respected. The elections were run professionally and effectively, and the bodies administering them enjoyed a high level of confidence. Aspects of electoral legislation needing further review related primarily to insufficient efforts to involve under-represented groups to form a fully inclusive parliament, differences in voting and candidacy rights across Member States that created unequal conditions for universal suffrage, disinformation and instances of political violence and threats during the campaign both against politicians and journalists, an absence of provisions allowing both citizen and international observers to access the process, and limited transparency and scope of campaign finance regulations.

These are some of the main conclusions from the final report on the June 2024 elections published by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR). The report offers recommendations to bring elections further in line with OSCE commitments and other international obligations and standards for democratic elections.

Key recommendations include:

• Ensuring equal suffrage rights and autonomous voting conditions for voters with disabilities;
• Further harmonizing the rules for the right to vote and to be elected across Member States;
• Making greater efforts to increase women’s participation in public and political life;
• Protecting journalists from threats and intimidation and ensuring swift investigation when pressure occurs;
• Urging contestants not to use intolerant and discriminatory rhetoric and calling on authorities to promptly condemn and investigate any such cases;
• Allowing for international and citizen observation of all aspects of the electoral process;
• Ensuring members of minority communities can enjoy their rights both as voters and candidates.

ODIHR deployed a Special Election Assessment Mission for these elections from 15 May to 14 June. Expert teams visited 20 of the EU Member States in the run up to election day and the mission observed the entire process across the EU.

All 57 countries across the OSCE region have formally committed to promptly following up on ODIHR’s election assessments and recommendations. The ODIHR Electoral Recommendations Database tracks the extent to which recommendations are implemented by states across the OSCE region.