Election-related Legal Opinions and Comments

The amendments to the Electoral Code of the Republic of Azerbaijan should be considered in the context of previous assessments of the Electoral Code by the Venice Commission and the OSCE/ODIHR, as well as OSCE/ODIHR election observation mission reports. The six most recent and most important documents are the Final Opinion on the Amendments to the Electoral Code of the Republic Azerbaijan of 25 October 2005 (CDLAD(2005)029), the Final Report of the OSCE/ODIHR Election Observation Mission for the 2005 Parliamentary Election (ODIHR.GAL/7/06), the Joint Final Assessment of the Electoral Code of Azerbaijan of 1 September 2003 (CDL-AD(2003)015), the Final Report of the OSCE/ODIHR Election Observation Mission for the 2003 Presidential election (FR03), the Joint Recommendations of 1 June 2004 (CDL-AD(2004)016rev and JR04) and the interim opinion on the proposed amendments to the Electoral Code of the Republic of Azerbaijan (CDL-AD(2005)018). These documents are interrelated. They contain important suggestions on how to improve the Electoral Code in order to provide a legal framework for elections consistent with international standards. This joint opinion reaffirms the previous recommendations.

Elections in Moldova have been observed by international organisations for many years, and the election laws have been reviewed by the Venice Commission and OSCE/ODIHR. The Venice Commission and OSCE/ODIHR issued a joint opinion in 2006 and the law has been amended after that. The Vice Speaker of the Parliament has listed in the “Report on the implementation of recommendations provided by the Council of Europe and the OSCE/ODIHR experts” which recommendations have been followed and has given the reasons for why some recommendations have not been followed. More precisely, the Parliament reported that most of the CoE experts’ recommendations were accepted and inserted in the text of the law, while “10 objections and proposals have been partially accepted or have not been accepted with the relevant arguments”. This Opinion should be read in conjuction with the Joint opinion on the Electoral Code of Moldova adopted at the 66th plenary session of the Venice Commission (17-18 March 2006, CDL-AD(2006)001), as a number of previous recommendations remain to be addressed.

In the framework of their cooperation on the reform of the electoral legislation the authorities of Croatia requested the OSCE/ODIHR and the Venice Commission to provide an opinion on the Law on Voter Lists of the Republic of Croatia (Doc. CDL(2007)044rev). The Central State Administration Office developed a Bill on Voter Lists (“the Draft Law”), which the Croatian Government has submitted for consideration by the Parliament (Sabor). While the Draft Law would not make fundamental changes to the method of voter registration, it would lead to important administrative and procedural changes that could ultimately affect the rights of voters.