OSCE Evaluates Elections

10. 02. 2012

OSCE Evaluates Elections


The report that was posted on the OSCE web page on Tuesday takes note of several points, including party funding, dual vote for minorities, accommodation of disabled persons in the election, women's participation and the work of electoral commission.

 

OSCE recommends that financial reports of political parties should provide a detailed breakdown of all donations in order to increase the level of transparency of political financing. Moreover, detailed versions of the reports should also be publicly accessible and a single authority should be in charge of overseeing party funding to guarantee comprehensive control. The report points to dual vote for the members of the Hungarian and Italian ethnic minorities, who may cast a vote for a minority representative and a vote for a partisan candidate, which is not in line with the principle of the equality of the vote, according to the report.

 

 

 

In terms of women's participation, OSCE notes that their share is slowly improving, although mainly because of the introduction of quotas in 2004 and lobbying by women. In the 2011 general election, 28 women were elected (31%), while in 2008 only twelve (13%) were elected. The report notes that Slovenian legislation accommodates participation of disabled persons in the election, however the measures do not always provide discretion. Moreover, not all polls can be accessed by disabled persons. The report says that the preliminary results of the election were released in a fast and transparent manner. However, on-line release of results by individual poll stations could further improve transparency.

 

The election assessment team was satisfied with the work of the electoral commissions, but pointed out that Slovenia's legislation does not have provisions concerning international observations, nonetheless, the electoral commissions provided access to the OSCE team in Slovenia. The Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), the principal institution of the OSCE, was invited to observe the election by Slovenian authorities. The election assessment team was based in Ljubljana, but visited other parts of the country as well.

 

SOURCE: The Slovenia Times

Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE)