24/04/2024
Skopje - Representatives of the Venice Commission will accompany the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) election observation delegation to advise it on the legal framework for the presidential elections (first round on 24 Avril and second round on 8 May 2024), and for the parliamentary elections of 8 May 2024 in North Macedonia.
The delegation will participate in joint briefings with other international organisations, before and after the elections, and observe the opening, voting and counting processes.
25/03/2024 - 26/03/2024
Yerevan – A delegation of the Venice Commission travelled to Armenia and had an exchange of views with state authorities and other stakeholders in order to follow up on the joint opinion of the Venice Commission and the OSCE/ODIHR on the draft amendments to the Electoral Code and related legislation of Armenia, which the Commission adopted in October 2023. The delegation met with representatives of the following institutions:
• the Ministry of Justice, including the Deputy Minister of Justice,
• the Central Election Commission (CEC),
• the Standing Committee on State and ... read more
17/12/2023
Belgrade - Representatives of the Venice Commission accompanied the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) election observation delegation to advise on the legal framework of the early parliamentary elections of 17 December 2023 in Serbia.
The delegation took part in joint briefings with other international organisations, before and after the elections, and observe the opening, voting and counting processes of the elections.
04/12/2023 - 06/12/2023
Mexico City/online – From 4 to 6 December 2023, the National Electoral Institute of Mexico (INE), supported notably by the Venice Commission, the Centre for Electoral Assistance and Promotion (CAPEL), the International Foundation of Electoral Systems (IFES), International IDEA, and the Organization of American States (OAS), hosted the Second Summit for Electoral Democracy entitled: “Electoral authorities facing disinformation” in Mexico City and online. The main aim of the Summit was to discuss the role of electoral authorities in combating misinformation and fake news, with the aim of benefi... read more
03/11/2023
Barcelona - The University of Barcelona and the Venice Commission held the 4th round of the Scientific Electoral Experts Debates. The theme was “The stability of electoral law”, a principle which ensures that the “game” (the electoral process) be played according to the rules, and not manipulated by the rules of the game (the electoral legislation).
The event has been initiated by the Council for Democratic Elections – the tripartite body of the Council of Europe in charge of electoral matters, including representatives of the Venice Commission, the Parliamentary Assembly and the C... read more
13/10/2023 - 16/10/2023
Warsaw - Representatives of the Venice Commission accompanied the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) election observation delegation to advise on the legal framework of the parliamentary elections of 15 October 2023 in Poland. They took part in joint briefings with other international organisations, before and after the elections, and observe the opening, voting and counting processes of the elections.
20/06/2023 - 21/06/2023
Mexico City/online – The Venice Commission, in cooperation with the Electoral Tribunal of the Federal Judiciary of Mexico (Tribunal Electoral del Poder Judicial de la Federación) held an international congress on effective political participation and fundamental rights entitled “Digital Technologies: Democracy and Regulation in Europe and America” in Mexico City and online. The main aim of the Congress was to develop further the ongoing debates on the regulatory process of digital technologies, social media, and artificial intelligence currently taking place in Europe and Latin America.... read more
11/06/2023
Podgorica - Representatives of the Venice Commission accompanied the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) election observation delegation to advise on the legal framework of the early parliamentary elections of 11 June 2023 in Montenegro.
The delegation observed the opening, voting and counting processes of the elections.
28/05/2023
Ankara - A representative of the Venice Commission accompanied the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) election observation delegation to advise on the legal framework of the 2nd tour of the presidential election of 28 May 2023 in Türkiye.
The delegation observed the opening, voting and counting processes of the election.
14/05/2023
Ankara - Representatives of the Venice Commission accompanied the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) election observation delegation to advise on the legal framework of the presidential and parliamentary elections of 14 May 2023 in Türkiye.
The delegation observed the opening, voting and counting processes of the elections.
02/04/2023
Sofia - Representatives of the Venice Commission accompanied the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) election observation delegation to advise on the legal framework of the early parliamentary elections of 2 April 2023 in Bulgaria.
The delegation observed the opening, voting and counting processes of the elections.
19/03/2023
Podgorica – A delegation of the Venice Commission accompanied the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) election observation delegation to advise on the legal framework of the presidential election of 19 March 2023 in Montenegro.
The delegation observed the opening, voting and counting processes of the election.
17/12/2022
The Venice Commission, in cooperation with the National Election Commission and the National Election Office, organised a post-election webinar following the parliamentary elections and the referendum held in Hungary on 3 April 2022.
Representatives of the National Election Commission, the National Election Office, a non-governmental organisation, OSCE/ODIHR and the Venice Commission participated in the event.
Members of the Venice Commission intervened on the topics of “Effective legal remedies” and on “Decision-making and overall effectiveness of the election administr... read more
14/11/2022 - 15/11/2022
Council of Europe, Strasbourg - "Artificial Intelligence and Electoral Integrity" was the topic of this year’s European Conference of Electoral Management Bodies, organised by the Venice Commission at the Council of Europe and online.
By linking the concepts of artificial intelligence and electoral integrity, the 19th EMBs Conference assessed:
- the impact of the use of AI systems in the organisation and conduct of electoral processes,
- the impact of the AI systems on the work of electoral administrations, and
- the lessons to be learned.
The Conferenc... read more
25/10/2022 - 26/10/2022
Tbilisi – The Central Election Commission of Georgia organised the 10th Annual Meeting of Election Management Bodies.
The following topics were dealt with by the meeting:
• Perspectives of using electoral technologies in the electoral processes,
• Sharing expertise and knowledge on challenges and positive aspects of using electoral technologies in the electoral processes,
• Influence of disinformation in electoral processes and the tools/strategies to combat disinformation.
Representatives of eleven countries as well as of the USAID, IFES and OSCE/ODIHR parti... read more
02/10/2022
Sarajevo – A representative of the Venice Commission accompanied the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) election observation delegation to advise on the legal framework of the general elections of 2 October 2022 in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The delegation observed the opening, voting and counting processes of the elections.
02/10/2022
Sofia – A representative of the Venice Commission accompanied the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) election observation delegation to advise on the legal framework of the parliamentary elections of 2 October 2022 in Bulgaria.
The delegation observed the opening, voting and counting processes of the elections.
05/07/2022 - 06/07/2022
Belgrade - Following the presidential and early parliamentary elections held in Serbia on 3 April 2022, the Venice Commission organised a series of post-election round tables with the National Assembly, the Republic Electoral Commission, media representatives, civil society representatives and members of the international community present in Serbia.
Amongst the international experts who participated in the event are members of the Venice Commission and its Secretariat, OSCE/ODIHR and Council of Europe’s Parliamentary Assembly representatives.
08/06/2022 - 09/06/2022
Budapest/online – the National Electoral Institute of Mexico (INE Mexico) in cooperation with different international organisations, electoral associations and electoral bodies currently hold the Global Summit for Democracy 2022. The aim of the initiative is to develop a global process for the debate and proposals on the great challenges democratic regimes face nowadays, in particular, those related to free and fair elections.
The Association of European Election Officials (ACEEEO) was called upon to organise the European Regional Forum of the Summit. However, following the armed a... read more
06/06/2022 - 07/06/2022
Pristina - A representative of the Venice Commission's Secretariat intervened during a workshop for judges and legal advisors of the Constitutional Court on the issue of election dispute resolution.
01/04/2022 - 04/04/2022
Belgrade - Representatives of the Venice Commission accompanied the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) election observation delegation to advise on the legal framework of the presidential and early parliamentary elections of 3 April 2022 in Serbia.
The delegation observed the opening, voting and counting processes of the elections.
BELGIUM – Hearing on the financing of political parties
23/03/2022
A representative of the Venice Commission took part in a hearing before the Constitution and Institutional Renewal Commission of the Belgian Chamber of Representatives on the limitation and control of expenses incurred for the election of the House of Representatives, and on the financing and open accounting of political parties.
08/03/2022
The National Election Office of Hungary and the Venice Commission held a pre-electoral webinar in view of the parliamentary elections scheduled in Hungary on 3 April 2022.
Such topics as holding elections during the pandemic, non-partisan civil election observation and the importance of providing an effective remedy for electoral disputes were discussed.
08/03/2022
The Republic Electoral Commission of Serbia and the Venice Commission held a pre-electoral webinar in view of the presidential and early parliamentary elections scheduled in Serbia on 3 April 2022.
Such topics as election observation, election-day operations and the importance of providing an effective remedy for electoral disputes were discussed.
Belgium – Hearing on bicameralism (online)
07/03/2022
A representative of the Venice Commission took part in a hearing before the Belgian Senate. His intervention focused on “the attitude of the Venice Commission towards bicameralism”.
03/02/2022
Earlier today Mr Pierre Garrone, Secretary of the Council for Democratic Elections (Venice Commission), addressed the Global Elections Day Summit 2022 (online).
The Global Elections Day (GED) 2022 was organised by the ACEEEO; its aim is to celebrate one of the most important democratic institutions – elections. GED was initiated by the GEO*/ACEEEO conference in 2005.
The goals of the GED Summit 2022, held online, were:
• to celebrate elections, a cornerstone of democracy;
• to acknowledge election officials, working relentlessly as guards of the democracy... read more
24/01/2022
A representative of the Venice Commission participated in a meeting of the European cooperation network on elections, organised by the European Commission, Directorate-General for Justice and Consumers. He intervened on the electoral standards during pandemics.
28/11/2021
Bishkek - Representatives of the Venice Commission accompanied the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) election observation delegation to advise on the legal framework of the parliamentary elections of 28 November 2021 in Kyrgyzstan.
The delegation observed the opening, voting and counting processes of the elections.
The participation of the Venice Commission in this mission was funded through the joint EU-Council of Europe project “Support to reforms of electoral legislation and practice and regional Human Rights instruments and mechanisms in countr... read more
13/11/2021 - 15/11/2021
Sofia - Representatives of the Venice Commission accompanied the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) election observation delegation to advise on the legal framework of the presidential and early parliamentary elections of 14 November 2021 in Bulgaria.
The delegation observed the opening, voting and counting processes of the elections.
29/10/2021
The Venice Commission of the Council of Europe held the 18th European Conference of Electoral Management Bodies (EMBs) online, operating from the headquarters of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg, France. This year the conference was devoted to the “Lessons learned from the impact of the COVID-19 health crisis on electoral processes”.
Representatives of electoral management bodies of Venice Commission member States, i.e. Europe and the Americas among other parts of the world, academics and election experts participated in the event, which was exceptionally open to publi... read more
28/10/2021
Chisinau – The Venice Commission participated in the Post-electoral review conference entitled “Lessons learned, recommendations and steps ahead”.
The event was organised by the Council of Europe in cooperation with the Central Electoral Commission of the Republic of Moldova and the Center for Continuous Electoral Training.
17/09/2021 - 19/09/2021
Moscow – Representatives of the Venice Commission accompanied the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) election assessment mission to advise on the legal framework of the general elections of 17 - 19 September 2021 in the Russian Federation.
07/09/2021 - 09/09/2021
Rabat - A representative of the Venice Commission accompanied the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) election observation delegation to advise on the legal framework of the general elections of 8 September 2021 in Morocco.
The delegation held meetings with representatives of political parties, National Council for Human Rights (CNDH) and civil society.
The delegation observed the opening, voting and counting processes of the elections.
10/07/2021 - 12/07/2021
Sofia - A delegation of the Venice Commission accompanied the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) election observation delegation to advise on the legal framework of the early parliamentary elections scheduled on 11 July 2021 in Bulgaria.
The delegation held meetings with representatives of political parties and of the Central Election Commission.
The delegation observed the opening, voting and counting processes of the elections.
08/07/2021 - 12/07/2021
Chisinau - A delegation of the Venice Commission accompanied the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) election observation delegation to advise on the legal framework of the early parliamentary elections scheduled on 11 July 2021 in the Republic of Moldova.
The delegation held meetings with other international observers, representatives of the political parties, media and civil society.
The delegation observed the opening, voting and counting processes of the elections.
19/06/2021 - 21/06/2021
Yerevan - A delegation of the Venice Commission accompanied the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) election observation delegation to advise on the legal framework of the early parliamentary elections held on 20 June 2021 in Armenia.
The delegation held meetings with other international observers, representatives of the political parties, media and civil society.
The delegation observed the opening, voting and counting processes of the elections.
REPUBLIC OF MOLDOVA - Countering misuse of administrative resources in electoral period – Online awareness raising event with electoral stakeholders and media representatives
04/06/2021
The Electoral Assistance Division of the DG-II the Council of Europe, the Central Electoral Commission of the Republic of Moldova and its Centre for Continuous Electoral Training co-organised an online awareness raising event with electoral stakeholders and media representatives on “Countering the misuse of administrative resources during electoral processes”.
Mr Richard Barrett, Irish member of the Venice Commission, intervened on “The international framework on combating the misuse of administrative resources during electoral processes”.
28/05/2021
The Electoral Assistance Division of the Council of Europe, the Centre for Continuous Electoral Training of the Central Electoral Commission of the Republic of Moldova and the National Institute of Justice of the Republic of Moldova co-organised a webinar for judges and election commissioners on “Election dispute resolution by the Moldovan courts – International and national framework on the use of administrative resources during electoral processes”.
Mr Eirik Holmøyvik, Norwegian substitute member of the Venice Commission, intervened on “Election dispute resolution – good Europea... read more
ALBANIA – parliamentary election – legal assistance to the PACE election observation mission
24/04/2021 - 26/04/2021
Tirana - A delegation of the Venice Commission accompanied the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) election observation delegation to advise on the legal framework of the parliamentary election held on 25 April 2021 in Albania.
The delegation held meetings with other international observers, representatives of the political parties, media and civil society.
The delegation observed the opening, voting and counting processes of the elections.
31/03/2021 - 05/04/2021
Sofia - A delegation of the Venice Commission accompanied the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) election observation delegation to advise on the legal framework of the parliamentary election scheduled on 4 April 2021 in Bulgaria.
The delegation held meetings with other international observers, representatives of the political parties, media and civil society.
The delegation observed the opening, voting and counting processes of the elections.
REPUBLIC OF MOLDOVA – post-electoral review conference
18/02/2021 - 19/02/2021
A member of the Venice Commission took part in the post-electoral review conference, entitled “Presidential Elections from the Republic of Moldova: analysis, conclusions, recommendations and steps ahead“.
16/02/2021
Bucharest - The Permanent Electoral Authority of Romania, in cooperation with the Venice Commission of the Council of Europe, organised the 3rd Scientific Electoral Experts Debates on “Accessibility of the electoral process”. The event took place on 16 February 2021, via Microsoft Teams, 14:00 -18:00 (Bucharest time – UTC+2).
The 3rd Scientific Electoral Experts Debates addressed accessibility of the electoral process, which is essential for the implementation of the universal suffrage - one of the main principles of electoral law. The online event approached accessibility from a ... read more
19/01/2021 - 20/01/2021
Council of Europe, Strasbourg – The Venice Commission participated in the 2nd meeting of the Council of Europe Committee of Experts on Media Environment and Reform. The elaboration of the Draft recommendation by the Committee of Ministers to member States on electoral communication and media coverage of election campaigns was one of the main points on the agenda of the meeting.
The representative of the Venice Commission contributed to the discussions by outlining the Commission’s “Principles for fundamental rights - compliant use of digital technologies in electoral processes”, a... read more
17/11/2020
The Venice Commission has published conclusions to its 17th international conference of Electoral Management Bodies (EMBs) held online last week on electoral law and electoral administration in Europe.
Conference participants focused on two main issues:
• Recurrent challenges met and best practices used during electoral campaigns, voting operations, counting, tabulation and transmission of election results;
• Holding elections during emergency situations: challenges met, and solutions found by electoral management bodies during the COVID19 pandemic.
12/11/2020 - 13/11/2020
The Venice Commission of the Council of Europe held the 17th European Conference of Electoral Management Bodies (EMBs) online, operating from the headquarters of the Council of Europe. This year the conference was devoted to the “Electoral law and electoral administration in Europe - Recurrent challenges and best practices”.
Representatives of electoral management bodies of Venice Commission member States, i.e. Europe and the Americas among other parts of the world, participated in the event. It was exceptionally open to public.
The following questions were addressed b... read more
29/10/2020 - 01/11/2020
Tbilisi - A delegation of the Venice Commission accompanied the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) election observation delegation to advise on the legal framework of the parliamentary election held on 31 October 2020 in Georgia.
The delegation held meetings with other international observers, representatives of the political parties, media and civil society.
The delegation observed the opening, voting and counting processes of the elections.
22/10/2020
The Venice Commission participated in a meeting of the Working group on democracy and technology (GT-DT) of the European Committee on Democracy and Governance (CDDG).
The working group’s mandate is to do the preparatory work for the CDDG study on digital transformation and its impact on democracy and governance. The group also prepares the recommendations and guidelines on new technologies and the different stages of the electoral process.
A representative of the Venice Commission presented its work in this area, in particular the “Draft principles for a fundamental rig... read more
20/10/2020
The Venice Commission organised in cooperation with the Central Election Commission of Georgia a webinar on “Holding elections during a pandemic”.
A member and experts of the Venice Commission intervened on the following topics:
- “Elections under states of emergency – Reflections issued from the Report on respect for Democracy, Human Rights and Rule of Law during states of emergency”.
- national examples of elections held recently under the health crisis.
15/10/2020
The Venice Commission organised in cooperation with the Central Election Commission of the Republic of Moldova a webinar on “Holding elections during a pandemic”.
A member and experts of the Venice Commission intervened on the following topics:
- “Elections under states of emergency – Reflections issued from the Report on respect for Democracy, Human Rights and Rule of Law during states of emergency”.
- national examples of elections held recently under the health crisis.
24/09/2020
The International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES) organised Webinar Series on “Administering elections in Europe during a pandemic”.
On 24 September 2020 the 4th online session on “How to Build a Democracy That’s Designed for All? Promoting Access and Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities“ was held and a representative of the Venice Commission participated in this session.
This event focused on innovative approaches for persons with disabilities to equally participate during the upcoming elections scheduled across Europe and practical recommendations for adminis... read more
10/09/2020
Tbilisi – The Association of European Election Officials (ACEEEO) invited the Venice Commission to participate in its 29th Annual conference online entitled "Elections and Communications - The role of Electoral Management Bodies in conducting and facilitating effective communication".
A representative of the Commission shared the information on the work of the Venice Commission on digital technologies and elections.
04/09/2020
The Venice Commission took part in a Technical webinar on “Preparation for elections security”, in the framework of the CyberEast project on cybercrime and electronic evidence in the Eastern Partnership countries, managed by the Cybercrime Programme Office of the Council of Europe (Bucharest).
The purpose of the webinar for the Georgian authorities was to bring together all relevant national stakeholders, and to focus on awareness raising, inter-institutional coordination, information sharing, best practices, previous experiences, and lessons learnt in terms ensuring cyber-security... read more
25/08/2020 - 25/08/2020
The Venice Commission and the State Election Commission of Montenegro co-organised a webinar dedicated to “Holding elections during a pandemic”, which took place online on 25 August 2020.
The participants exchanged views on theoretical aspects and practical implications of holding elections during a pandemic, including in the context of the Montenegrin elections.
11/07/2020 - 13/07/2020
Warsaw - A delegation of the Venice Commission accompanied the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) election observation delegation to advise on the legal framework of the second round of the presidential election held on 12 July 2020 in Poland.
The delegation observed the opening, voting and counting processes of the elections.
26/06/2020 - 29/06/2020
Warsaw - A delegation of the Venice Commission accompanied the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) election observation delegation to advise on the legal framework of the presidential election held on 28 June 2020 in Poland.
The delegation observed the opening, voting and counting processes of the elections.
23/06/2020 - 24/06/2020
In the framework of the preparation of the joint Venice Commission - OSCE/ODIHR opinion on the draft Law on elections of members of the Parliament and councillors of Montenegro, a number of video meetings were held with the authors of the draft law and other representatives of national authorities and stakeholders.
The draft opinion is prepared at the request of the Parliament of Montenegro.
27/04/2020
On 27 April 2020 a videoconference was held between representatives of OSCE/ODIHR and the Venice Commission on the one side, and a delegation of the National Assembly of Armenia on the other side, on the implementation of the Joint opinion of the Venice Commission and OSCE/ODIHR on draft amendments to the legislation concerning political parties.
The Armenian authorities are planning to adopt revised legislation which should follow the recommendations of the opinion.
09/02/2020
Baku - A delegation of the Venice Commission accompanied the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) election observation delegation to advise on the legal framework of the early parliamentary elections held on 9 February 2020 in Azerbaijan.
The delegation observed the opening, voting and counting processes of the elections.
02/12/2019 - 03/12/2019
Tbilisi - The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) and The Venice Commission held a Regional Parliamentary Conference on “Preventing and responding to the misuse of administrative resources during electoral processes: the role of national parliaments”. The event was hosted by the Parliament of Georgia.
This conference was organised for parliamentarians and central election commissions from Armenia, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine as part of the project financed by voluntary contributions to the Action Plans for Georgia and Ukraine.
29/11/2019
Tbilisi – The Venice Commission, in cooperation with the Electoral Assistance Division of the Directorate General for Democracy of the Council of Europe and the Georgian authorities, organised a seminar entitled “Election dispute resolution in Georgia: challenges and steps ahead”.
29/11/2019
Tbilisi – The Venice Commission, in cooperation with the Electoral Assistance Division of the Directorate General for Democracy of the Council of Europe and the Georgian authorities, has elaborated a Toolkit for election dispute resolution.
It was presented to the actors concerned by the processes of election dispute resolution in Georgia.
20/11/2019 - 21/11/2019
Warsaw – A representative of the Venice Commission participated in the 14th annual Implementation Meeting of the Declaration of Principles for International Election Observation. The event was organised by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR).
The meeting hosted a High Level Panel on new trends in elections and how to observe them, followed by six thematic sessions focusing on:
• the follow up to electoral recommendations,
• citizen observation of elections,
• the use of technology in elections,
• the role of social media... read more
20/11/2019 - 22/11/2019
Council of Europe, Strasbourg – The Venice Commission was invited to participate in the Octopus Conference 2019: "Cooperation against Cybercrime" organised by the Council of Europe department in charge of the action against cybercrime.
The Venice Commission co-organised Workshop No. 5 dedicated to "Cybercrime, “fake news” and election interference", where several representatives intervened on behalf of the Commission.
17/11/2019
Minsk - A delegation of the Venice Commission accompanied the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) election observation delegation to advise on the legal framework of the of the early parliamentary elections held on 17 November 2019 in Belarus.
The delegation observed the opening, voting and counting processes of the elections.
13/11/2019 - 14/11/2019
Panama City – The Venice Commission was invited to participate in the XIVth Inter-American Meeting of Electoral Management Bodies. The event is co-organised by the Electoral Tribunal of Panama and the Organisation of American States. A representative of the Venice Commission intervened on good practices in electoral reform processes.
The participation of the Venice Commission was funded through the joint EU-Council of Europe project “Support to reforms of electoral legislation and practice and regional Human Rights instruments and mechanisms in countries of Latin America, Central A... read more
07/10/2019 - 08/10/2019
Sarajevo - The Venice Commission participated in the Second Meeting of the Regional Electoral Jurisprudence Working Group, which discussed the following issues: the procedural challenges in election dispute resolution; the evidentiary issues in election cases, including recounts and audits; the issue of annulment of election results; social media and the spread of disinformation in elections; and vote buying, campaign finance violations and abuse of State resources.
ALBANIA - “Denied by the system: establishing an all-inclusive system to protect democracy” - conference
25/09/2019
Tirana – The Venice Commission participated in a conference entitled “Denied by the system: establishing an all-inclusive system to protect democracy”.
The event was organised by the OSCE Presence in Albania and the Ad Hoc Committee on Electoral Reform of the Albanian Parliament.
19/09/2019
Podgorica – An expert of the Venice Commission visited Podgorica with a view to providing expert advice on the draft code of ethics for political parties during election campaigns.
The expert exchanged views with the Chairman and some members of the Committee on Further Reform of Electoral and Other Legislation, the Chairman and members of the State Electoral Commission and the representatives of the OSCE mission in Podgorica.
This visit was financed through "Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Turkey", a Joint Programme funded by the European Union and th... read more
27/06/2019 - 28/06/2019
Bratislava - The Venice Commission held the 16th European Conference of Electoral Management Bodies, in co-operation with the Section for Public Administration of the Ministry of Interior of the Slovak Republic and the State Commission for the Elections and Control of Political Parties Funding.
This year the European Conference of Electoral Management Bodies was devoted to the theme of the election dispute resolution.
05/05/2019
Skopje - A delegation of the Venice Commission accompanied the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) election observation delegation to advise on the legal framework of the 2nd round of the presidential election held on 5 May 2019 in North Macedonia.
The delegation observed the opening, voting and counting processes of the 1st round of the elections.
19/04/2019 - 22/04/2019
Skopje - A delegation of the Venice Commission accompanied the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) election observation delegation to advise on the legal framework of the 1st round of the presidential election held on 21 April 2019 in North Macedonia.
The delegation observed the opening, voting and counting processes of the 1st round of the elections.
30/03/2019 - 01/04/2019
Kiev - A delegation of the Venice Commission accompanied the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) election observation delegation to advise on the legal framework of the Presidential elections held on 31 March 2019 in Ukraine.
The delegation observed the opening, voting and counting processes of the elections.
21/03/2019
During February-March 2019, a series of all-Ukrainian trainings for national judges on election dispute resolution took place in different cities of Ukraine:
- Vinnytsia, Kyiv, Chernivtsi, Kramatorsk, Kharkiv, Dnipro and Odessa.
During these trainings, 117 judges from 30 Ukrainian administrative courts of appeal and regional administrative courts discussed peculiarities of application of electoral legislation in resolution of election disputes in view of upcoming presidential elections in Ukraine.
Throughout these trainings the judges examined the practical... read more
22/02/2019 - 25/02/2019
Chisinau - A delegation of the Venice Commission accompanied the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) election observation delegation to advise on the legal framework of the parliamentary elections of 24 February 2019 in the Republic of Moldova.
The delegation observed the opening, voting and counting processes of the parliamentary elections.
Elections in EU - combatting online manipulation – international event
11/02/2019
Brussels – the Venice Commission participated in the event organised by the European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS) on the fight against online manipulation and abuse of personal data in political campaigning. With the European Parliament elections in May this year, and numerous other national elections in EU Member States scheduled for 2019, the EDPS facilitated a discussion between data protection authorities, electoral regulators, audio-visual regulators, media and various platforms active in the field.
08/12/2018 - 09/12/2018
Yerevan - A delegation of the Venice Commission accompanied the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) election observation delegation to advise on the legal framework of the early parliamentary elections of 9 December 2018 in Armenia.
The delegation observed the opening, voting and counting processes of the parliamentary elections.
30/11/2018
Chisinau – the Central Electoral Commission of the Republic of Moldova, the Division of electoral assistance of DGII and the Venice Commission organised a workshop on “Preventing and combating misuse of administrative resources in the electoral processes”. The relevant Guidelines were developed jointly by the Venice Commission and the OSCE/ODIHR in 2016.
28/11/2018
Tbilisi - A delegation of the Venice Commission accompanied the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) election observation delegation to advise on the legal framework of the second round of the presidential election of 28 November 2018 in Georgia.
The delegation observed the opening, voting and counting processes of the second round.
27/10/2018 - 29/10/2018
Tbilisi - A delegation of the Venice Commission accompanied the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) election observation delegation to advise on the legal framework of the presidential election of 28 October 2018 in Georgia.
The delegation observed the opening, voting and counting processes of the presidential elections.
06/10/2018 - 08/10/2018
Sarajevo - A delegation of the Venice Commission accompaned the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) election observation delegation to advise on the legal framework of the general elections of 7 October 2018 in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The delegation observed the opening, voting and counting processes of the elections.
KOSOVO - High Level Workshop "Financing Political Parties"
04/10/2018
Pristina - A member of the Venice Commission participated in the high-level workshop entitled "Financing of political parties" in Pristina, Kosovo on 4 October 2018. The workshop was organised by the Office of the European Union in Kosovo / Special Representative of the EU and the OSCE Mission in Kosovo.
29/09/2018 - 01/10/2018
Skopje – A delegation of the Venice Commission accompanied the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) referendum observation delegation to advise on the legal framework of the consultative referendum, to be held on 30 September 2018, related to the bilateral agreement signed with Greece on 17 June 2018.
This agreement envisaged constitutional amendments that would have changed the name of the country to the “Republic of North Macedonia”. This agreement would have also led to the EU and NATO membership talks.
The PACE delegation observed the opening, voti... read more
12/09/2018 - 14/09/2018
The third and the last round of regional public discussions of the draft Election Code of Ukraine was held in Dnipro on 12 September (Hotel "Abri", 11h00) and in Lviv on 14 September (Hotel "Dnister", 11h00).
These regional events were held with the aim of discussing the main issues of the draft Election Code with the interested parties, as well as developing recommendations upon the results of these discussions in preparation of the draft Code for the second reading in the Verhovna Rada.
The deputies of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, deputies and representatives of loca... read more
05/09/2018 - 07/09/2018
Vilnius - The Venice Commission participated in the 27th Annual Conference of the ACEEEO, devoted to the topic of ‘Guaranteeing voter privacy, security and integrity’; in particular, one workshop was devoted to cyber security.
On the side-lines of this conference, representatives of the Commission participated in a meeting on the development of a European / Eurasian network of electoral jurisprudence.
19/07/2018 - 20/07/2018
Odessa - the Venice Commission’s branch of the Council of Europe's Office in Ukraine, together with the National School of Judges of Ukraine, launched the training course "Election Dispute Resolution".
The course includes such topics as:
• International standards and principles of democratic election,
• Overview of national election law. Classification of electoral disputes during the election process,
• Peculiarities of conduct on election rights and referendum under the rules of the CAJU, and
• ECtHR practice in electoral disputes.
The judges... read more
13/07/2018 - 27/07/2018
Following the 1st round of successful public discussions in Vinnitsa and Chernihiv (cf. news of 15-16 June 2018), several regional meetings on the draft Electoral Code of Ukraine were held in the course of the month of July 2018.
These activities took place in the following locations: in Rivno - on 13 July, in Chernivcy – on 16 July, in Khmelnitskyi – on 17 July, in Odessa - on 19 July, Mikolaiv – on 24 July, in Kherson - on 25 July, in Zaporijia – on 26 July and Kropyvnytskyi - on 27 July 2018.
The deputies of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, deputies and representatives... read more
04/07/2018
Tirana – An expert of the Venice Commission took part in a workshop on media during the electoral campaign of the Parliamentary Ad Hoc Committee on Electoral Reform which was organised with the support of the OSCE/ODIHR.
This workshop brought together the Co-chairs and members of the Ad Hoc Committee on Electoral Reform, the Chair and members of the Central Election Commission, representatives of the relevant public administrations, CSOs and international organisations present in Tirana as well as national and international election experts.
The participation of the Ve... read more
27/06/2018
Kyiv - the Venice Commission in cooperation with the Ukrainian “Center for Policy and Legal Reforms” (CPLR), the USAID Program “RADA: Responsible Accountable Democratic Assembly”, the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA) and with the support of the European Union organised the international roundtable on "Constitutional principles of the legislative branch of power in Ukraine". The event took place in the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine.
The discussion was focused on the challenges to implementation of the Ukrainian Parliament’s legislative... read more
23/06/2018 - 24/06/2018
Ankara - A delegation of the Venice Commission accompanied the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) election observation delegation to advise on the legal framework of the early presidential election and parliamentary elections of 24 June 2018.
The 35-member PACE delegation observed the opening, voting and counting processes of the presidential elections.
14/06/2018
Strasbourg/ Mexico City – The Venice Commission of the Council of Europe and the Mexican Electoral Tribunal of the Federal Judiciary announce the complete update of their VOTA database of electoral legislation and the Venice Commission reports and opinions on elections and political parties – a unique collection of its kind.
The database was conceived by the Venice Commission in 2003 and put on line in 2004. Since 2012, the Venice Commission manages VOTA in cooperation with the Mexican Electoral Tribunal of the Federal Judiciary, an indispensible partner in this unique endea... read more
04/06/2018 - 05/06/2018
Sarajevo - The Venice Commission participated in a second series of meetings with the actors of the electoral process, in order to provide expert assistance in the consultations on the necessary changes to the electoral legislation concerning the election of the Chamber of Peoples of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
This visit was organised as part of the "Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Turkey", a joint programme funded by the European Union and the Council of Europe, and implemented by the Council of Europe.
26/05/2018
Bishkek – A republic-wide conference of journalists of the Kyrgyz Republic was organised in Bishkek on 26 May 2018 in partnership with the Media Development Centre. The conference targeted all the regions of the Kyrgyz Republic and focused on such topics as freedom of expression, media monitoring practices during elections, media regulation, etc.
The conference was organised within the framework of the project “Support to Strengthening Democracy through Electoral Reform in the Kyrgyz Republic” implemented by the Venice Commission and funded by the European Union.
22/05/2018 - 24/05/2018
Sarajevo - As agreed by the political parties of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, in the context of the EU/US facilitation efforts on electoral reform, and following a formal request made by the EU, the Venice Commission attended a series of meetings with the relevant electoral stakeholders in order to provide expert assistance in the process of on-going discussions on necessary changes to electoral legislation, in particular concerning the election of the House of Peoples of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
This visit took place in the framework of "Horizontal Fa... read more
15/05/2018
Tirana – A delegation of the Venice Commission visited Albania with a view to discussing the upcoming electoral reform with the Parliamentary Ad Hoc Committee on electoral reform, the Central Election Commission and the international organisations present in Tirana.
This visit took place in the framework of "Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Turkey", a Joint Programme funded by the European Union and the Council of Europe and implemented by the Council of Europe.
03/05/2018 - 06/05/2018
Sinaia, Romania - the Second Scientific Electoral Experts Debates co-organised by the Permanent Electoral Authority of Romania (PEA) and the Venice Commission, took place on 3-4 May 2018 in Sinaia. The theme of this event was “Equal Suffrage”.
This event was followed by the International Conference on free elections, Parliaments and nation building, organised by the PEA on 5-6 May 2018.
On this occasion, the “Electoral Expert Review”, published by the Permanent Electoral Authority (PEA), invited stakeholders and those interested to contribute in publishing scientific ar... read more
EU - Event on Democratic Participation and Electoral Matters
26/04/2018
Brussels - The Venice Commission took part in the "Event on Democratic Participation and Electoral Matters", which involved the electoral management bodies of the member countries of the European Union. A representative of the Commission intervened in the 5th thematic session dedicated to "Practices in the identification, mitigation and management of risks of cyber-attacks and disinformation in the electoral processes".
19/04/2018 - 20/04/2018
Oslo - The Venice Commission co-organised the 15th Conference of Electoral Management Bodies in co-operation with the Section for Elections of the Ministry of Local Government and Modernisation of Norway. The Conference was dedicated to “Security in Elections”. All details are available on the Conference's dedicated webpage (link below).
Norway - Meeting with the Election Act Commission
17/04/2018
Oslo – A delegation of the Venice Commission met with representatives of the Election Act Commission. Established by Royal decree, this Commission has as a task to make proposals to the Storting (Norwegian parliament) to enact a new electoral legislation.
14/04/2018 - 16/04/2018
Podgorica - A delegation of the Venice Commission accompanied the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) election observation delegation to advise on the legal framework of the presidential elections of 15 April 2018 in Montenegro. The PACE delegation together with observers from the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly and the OSCE’s Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) observed the opening, voting and counting processes of the presidential elections.
10/04/2018 - 11/04/2018
Tirana – The Venice Commission and the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, in co-operation with the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe organised a regional conference on “The misuse of administrative resources during electoral processes: a major challenge for democratic elections”.
Azerbaijan - presidential elections - Legal assistance to the PACE observation mission
10/04/2018 - 12/04/2018
Baku - A delegation of the Venice Commission accompanied the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) election observation delegation to advise on the legal framework of the anticipated presidential elections of 11 April 2018 in Azerbaijan. The PACE delegation together with observers from the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly and the OSCE’s Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) observed the opening, voting and counting processes of the presidential elections.
04/04/2018 - 05/04/2018
Kiev – In the framework of the “Electoral systems week” and in co-operation with IFES, USAID and other international partners the Venice Commission co-organised a round table on the electoral reforms process in Ukraine. This event brought together representatives of the Ukrainian authorities, MPs, NGOs, national and international experts who discussed the current initiatives aimed at reforming the electoral legislation in Ukraine.
29/01/2018
Chisinau - A delegation of the Venice Commission and OSCE/ODIHR visited the Republic of Moldova in view of the preparation of a joint opinion on the revised electoral legislation concerning the system for the election of Parliament. The delegation met representatives of political parties and the civil society, as well as the Central Electoral Commission and the Commission for the boundary delimitation.
24/01/2018
Strasbourg - The Venice Commission co-organised a study visit to the Council of Europe of a group from the European Law Students' Association (ELSA) at the occasion of the Winter Session of the Council of Europe's Parliamentary Assembly.
Members of the Secretariat of the Venice Commission introduced the work of the Commission and its role in assisting the member States.
Albania - Electoral matters - Voting abroad
23/01/2018
Tirana – A representative of the Venice Commission took part in a conference on “Voting of Albanian citizens abroad”, organised under the auspices of the Assembly of Albania, by the Minister of State for Diaspora with the support of the OSCE Presence in Albania.
10/01/2018 - 11/01/2018
Belgrade - A delegation of the Venice Commission met on 10 and 11 January with the Minister of Justice, the Republic Public Prosecutor, representatives of the Ministry of European Integration and the Office for Cooperation with Civil Society as well as the academic community with a view to discussing the upcoming constitutional changes. This was the second visit to the Republic of Serbia to provide recommendations to the Ministry of Justice with respect to drafting the relevant constitutional amendments in the field of the judiciary.
This activity took place in the framework of "H... read more
28/11/2017 - 29/11/2017
Seminar for national administrative judges on “Election Dispute Resolution: international standards, the ECHR case law and national court practice in Ukraine” took place in Kyiv, Ukraine on 28 November 2017.
The main aim of the seminar was to discuss problems which national judges face during consideration of election disputes, in particular, considering the latest experience during electoral process related to 29 October local elections in newly amalgamated communities; to conduct a brainstorming on the issues which should be covered by the future permanent training course for jud... read more
28/11/2017 - 30/11/2017
Belgrade - An expert of the Venice Commission was in Belgrade on 27 November 2017 to provide recommendations to the Ministry of Justice with respect to drafting constitutional amendments in the field of the judiciary. The expert met with the Minister of Justice, the Director of the Judicial Academy, and other relevant national authorities as well as representatives of the Civil Society Organisations.
This activity is financed by the "Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Turkey", a Joint Programme funded by the European Union and the Council of Europe and implemented by ... read more
The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia - Long-term legal assistance to the State Election Commission - 28/08 - 24/11/2017
27/11/2017
Skopje – The Venice Commission provided a long-term legal assistance to the State Election Commission with a view to the good administration of the 2017 October local elections.
This activity falls in the framework of the "Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Turkey", a joint programme funded by the European Union and the Council of Europe and implemented by the Council of Europe.
09/11/2017 - 10/11/2017
London - The Parliamentary Assembly (PACE) and the Venice Commission, in co-operation with the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe, organised a regional conference entitled “Misuse of administrative resources during electoral processes: a major challenge for democratic elections”. Members of Parliaments and representatives of the Central electoral administrations of the countries beneficiaries of the Partnership of Good Governance participated in this conference as well as a panel of international experts, specialists in the topic of the conference.
... read more
26/10/2017 - 27/10/2017
Bregenz, Austria – The Venice Commission is invited to participate in the Second International Joint Conference on Electronic Voting. This conference is one of the leading international events for e-voting experts from all over the world.
One of its major objectives is to provide a forum for interdisciplinary and open discussion of all issues relating to electronic voting. In 2016 the two previously bi-annually held conferences, EVOTE and VoteID, were merged into the annual E-VOTE-ID conference.
19/10/2017 - 20/10/2017
Chisinau – Venice Commission organised a seminar on electoral dispute resolution in cooperation with the Central Electoral Commission Moldova (CEC), Centre for Continuous Electoral Training, and with the National Institute of Justice of Moldova. The 1st day of the seminar was for judges and CEC members (19 October), the 2nd - for CEC staff and lawyers of political parties (20 October).
This activity falls in the framework of the Partnership for Good Governance (PGG) for Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Republic of Moldova, Ukraine and Belarus, funded by the European Union and the Coun... read more
Kyrgyzstan - presidential elections - Legal assistance to the PACE observation mission
14/10/2017 - 16/10/2017
Bishkek - A delegation of the Venice Commission accompanies the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) election observation delegation to advise on the legal framework of the presidential elections of 16 October 2017 in Kyrgyzstan. The PACE delegation is to observe the opening, voting and counting processes of the presidential elections.
22/09/2017 - 24/09/2017
Batumi – the Venice Commission, the International Foundation for Electoral Systems and the Central Election Commission of Georgia in cooperation with the Supreme Court of Georgia, held an Election Dispute Resolution Seminar for about 90 judges of the courts of appeal of Georgia.
This activity falls in the framework of the Partnership for Good Governance (PGG) for Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Republic of Moldova, Ukraine and Belarus, funded by the European Union and the Council of Europe and implemented by the Council of Europe.
08/09/2017
Warsaw – The Venice Commission took part in the launch event of the project “Support to the Follow-up of Electoral Recommendations in the Western Balkans”. This event, organised in the form of a roundtable, was held by the OSCE.
The event highlighted the importance of follow-up of electoral recommendations and informed the participants of the next steps of the project. It began with an outline of the project and followed by three working sessions on election management, voter registration and conduct of the media during election campaigns. Participants of the event included intern... read more
24/06/2017 - 26/06/2017
Tirana - A delegation of the Venice Commission accompanies the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) delegation to advise on the legal framework of the parliamentary elections of 25 June 2017 in Albania. The PACE delegation is to observe the opening, voting and counting processes of the early parliamentary elections.
30/05/2017 - 01/06/2017
Skopje – An expert of the Venice Commission participated in several meetings in the electoral field in Skopje from 30 May to 1 June. The meetings took place in the framework of a workshop organised by the State Election Commission in cooperation with the Venice Commission, the OSCE and the IFES.
The workshop was partially financed by the "Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Turkey", a Joint Programme funded by the European Union and the Council of Europe and implemented by the Council of Europe.
This workshop on electoral dispute resolution was aimed at f... read more
16/05/2017 - 19/05/2017
Bishkek – Experts of the Venice Commission participated in several meetings in the electoral field in Bishkek from 16 to 19 May 2017. The meetings took place in the framework of the project “Support to Strengthening Democracy through Electoral Reform in the Kyrgyz Republic” with funding provided by the European Union.
The experts of the Venice Commission shared with the project beneficiaries their experience on a number of issues such as complaints mechanism, international standards in the electoral field, participation of political parties in elections as well as the role of media... read more
15/05/2017 - 16/05/2017
Tavricheskiy Palace, St Petersburg – Ways of improving the functioning of electoral administrations was the focus of an international conference taking place in the Tavrichesky Palais, St Petersburg, Russian Federation, on 15-16 May 2017.
More than 120 participants representing about 40 countries and several international institutions, including chairs and members of central electoral commissions and administrations from Europe and beyond, defined measures needed to improve functioning of electoral administrations and exchange good practices advancing efficiency, visibility and int... read more
31/03/2017 - 03/04/2017
Yerevan - A delegation of the Venice Commission accompanies the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) delegation to advise on the legal framework of the parliamentary elections of 2 April 2017 in Armenia. The PACE delegation is to observe the opening, voting and counting processes of the early parliamentary elections.
31/03/2017 - 03/04/2017
Belgrade - A delegation of the Venice Commission accompanies the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) delegation to advise on the legal framework of the presidential elections scheduled on 2 April 2017 in Serbia. The PACE delegation is to observe the opening, voting and counting processes of the presidential elections.
29/03/2017
Strasbourg, Palais de l’Europe – A member of the Venice Commission intervenes before the 32nd session of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe. He is to present the opinion of the Venice Commission on the Congress' Checklist for compliance with international standards and best practices preventing misuse of administrative resources during electoral processes at local and regional level. This opinion was adopted at the March 2017 session of the Commission.
Tunisia - election financing issues
28/03/2017 - 29/03/2017
Tunis - The Venice Commission co-organised with the Supreme Independent Authority of Tunisia for Elections and the UNDP an international conference on "The financing of political life during the election period".
The conference was followed by a workshop entitled "International perspectives on techniques of control of the financing of election campaigns", which took place on 29 March 2017 also in Tunis.
27/03/2017 - 28/03/2017
Kyiv – the Venice Commission in co-operation with the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES), the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), various competent services of the Council of Europe, and Ukraine’s Central Election Commission organised a conference on the use informational technologies (IT) in the electoral processes.
The conference provided a platform for discussing the advantages and disadvantages of various electoral IT systems, as well as the security implications of different results management systems in Ukraine and around the glob... read more
23/03/2017 - 27/03/2017
Sofia - A delegation of the Venice Commission accompanies the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) delegation to advise on the legal framework of the parliamentary elections of 26 March 2017 in Bulgaria. The PACE delegation is to observe the opening, voting and counting processes of the early parliamentary elections.
16/03/2017
Kyiv – Venice Commission co-organised with IFES Ukraine an expert round table on “International standards and electoral dispute resolution in Ukraine”. This roundtable aimed to present and discuss international standards for establishing effective election dispute programs and Ukrainian key practices in this sphere, based on the contributions from domestic and international experts.
This activity is part of the assistance in the electoral field provided in a framework of the Council of Europe’s Action Plan for Ukraine.
15/03/2017
Kyiv – The Venice Commission co-organised with the National Agency on Corruption prevention and Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine a conference entitled “Political parties financing in Ukraine: Current legislation, recent developments and perspectives”.
This activity is part of the assistance in the electoral field provided in a framework of the Council of Europe’s Action Plan for Ukraine.
15/03/2017 - 15/06/2017
Skopje - An expert from the Venice Commission assists the State Election Commission in Skopje by means of providing legal and technical advice. This long term assistance mission was put in place with a view to the municipal elections scheduled for May 2017.
This activity is part of the "Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Turkey", a Joint Programme funded by the European Union and the Council of Europe and implemented by the Council of Europe.
Georgia - 2016 parliamentary elections: lessons learned and steps ahead
13/03/2017
Tbilisi – The Venice Commission participated in the conference on the “2016 parliamentary elections: lessons learned and steps ahead”.
This activity falls in the framework of the Programmatic Co-operation Framework (PCF) for Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Republic of Moldova, Ukraine and Belarus, funded by the European Union and the Council of Europe and implemented by the Council of Europe.
04/03/2017 - 10/03/2017
Yerevan – Venice Commission organised in co-operation with the Central Election Commission and the Justice Academy of Armenia a series of training sessions on election dispute resolution.
The 4 sessions were meant for members of election commissions, administrative judges and representatives of political parties and civil society. They took place from 4 to 10 March 2017.
This activity falls under the Programmatic Cooperation Framework for Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Republic of Moldova, Ukraine and Belarus, funded by the European Union and the Council of Europe and im... read more
27/02/2017 - 03/04/2017
Yerevan - On 27 and 28 February 2017, the long term legal assistance to the Central Electoral Commission of Armenia started. Several meetings were held with representatives of civil society, international community, the OSCE/ODIHR and of the Central Electoral Commission. An expert of the Venice Commission will assist the CEC with the preparation of the parliamentary elections foreseen on 2 April 2017.
This activity falls under the Programmatic Cooperation Framework for Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Republic of Moldova, Ukraine and Belarus, funded by the European Union and the Counc... read more
23/01/2017 - 26/01/2017
Skopje - At the request of the State Election Commission of "the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia", a delegation of the Venice Commission undertook a fact-finding mission with a view to defining the modalities of a long term technical assistance.
The delegation met with national and international stakeholders and joined the State Election Commission in its retreat.
09/12/2016 - 12/12/2016
Skopje - A delegation of the Venice Commission accompanies the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) delegation to advise on the legal framework of the early parliamentary elections scheduled on 11 December 2016 in "the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia". The PACE delegation is to observe the opening, voting and counting processes of the early parliamentary elections.
04/11/2016 - 07/11/2016
Sofia - A delegation of the Venice Commission accompanies the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) delegation to advise on the legal framework of the presidential elections scheduled on 6 November 2016 in Bulgaria. The PACE delegation is to observe the opening, voting and counting processes of the presidential elections.
Austria - Electoral Seminar on Election Observation and Follow-up of Recommendations
02/11/2016
Vienna - Upon invitation from the OSCE/ODIHR, Mr Richard Barrett, member of the Venice Commission on behalf of Ireland, participated in a seminar on the follow-up of recommendations issued by international election observation missions.
29/10/2016 - 31/10/2016
Chisinau - A delegation of the Venice Commission accompanies the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) delegation to advise on the legal framework of the presidential elections held on 30 October 2016 in the Republic of Moldova. The PACE delegation is to observe the opening, voting and counting processes of the presidential elections.
24/10/2016 - 25/10/2016
Venice - The Venice Commission participated in a regional conference related to the follow-up given to recommendations made by international election observation missions.
This activity falls in the framework of the Programmatic Co-operation Framework (PCF) for Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Republic of Moldova, Ukraine and Belarus, funded by the European Union and the Council of Europe and implemented by the Council of Europe.
14/10/2016 - 17/10/2016
Podgorica - A delegation of the Venice Commission accompanies the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) delegation to advise on the legal framework of the parliamentary elections held on 16 October 2016 in Montenegro.
The PACE delegation is to observe the opening, voting and counting processes of the parliamentary elections. The team will meet with diplomats, representatives of political parties, of mass media and of NGOs.
06/10/2016 - 09/10/2016
Tbilisi - A delegation of the Venice Commission accompanies the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) delegation to advise on the legal framework of the parliamentary elections held on 8 October 2016 in Georgia.
The PACE delegation is to observe the opening, voting and counting processes of the parliamentary elections. The team will meet with diplomats, representatives of political parties, of mass media and of NGOs.
05/10/2016 - 08/10/2016
Rabat - A delegation of the Venice Commission accompanies the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) delegation to advise on the legal framework of the parliamentary elections held on 7 October 2016 in Morocco.
The PACE delegation is to observe the opening, voting and counting processes of the parliamentary elections.
22/09/2016 - 23/09/2016
Tirana – A representative of the Venice Commission participates in the 25th Annual conference of the ACEEEO entitled “25 years of electoral processes”. The representative of the Venice Commission intervenes at the occasion of a World Leaders Summit dedicated to this topic.
18/09/2016 - 21/09/2016
Amman – A delegation of the Venice Commission accompanies the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) delegation to advise on the legal framework of the early parliamentary elections in Jordan held on 20 September 2016.
17/09/2016 - 18/09/2016
Tbilisi – In view of the forthcoming parliamentary elections, scheduled on 8 October 2016, the Supreme Court of Georgia, is organising a training seminar on electoral dispute resolution for 100 judges, in co-operation with the Central Election Commission of Georgia and the Venice Commission. The training is devoted to best practices on electoral dispute resolution, case studies and European standards. An expert of the Venice Commission will be one of trainers at this seminar.
This activity falls in the framework of the Programmatic Co-operation Framework (PCF) for Armenia, Azerbaij... read more
13/09/2016 - 15/09/2016
Chisinau – In view of the forthcoming presidential election, scheduled on 30 October 2016, the Venice Commission, in co-operation with the training Centre of the Central Electoral Commission of Moldova, is organising four training sessions on electoral dispute resolution for various groups of participants (judges, members and staff of the Central Election Commission and chairpersons of the district election commissions). The sessions are devoted to best practices on electoral dispute resolution, case studies and European standards.
This activity falls in the framework of the Progra... read more
Belarus - Parliamentary elections - legal assistance to the PACE observation mission
09/09/2016 - 12/09/2016
Minsk – A delegation of the Venice Commission accompanies the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) delegation to advise on the legal framework of the parliamentary elections in Belarus held on 11 September 2016.
The PACE delegation is to observe the opening, voting and counting processes of the parliamentary elections. The team will meet with diplomats, representatives of political parties and of NGOs.
08/08/2016 - 18/09/2016
Tbilisi - At the request of the Central Election Commission of Georgia, the Venice Commission assists the electoral authority of the country by providing an election expert who is assisting the Commission on legal matters in view of the forthcoming parliamentary elections scheduled on 8 October 2016.
This activity falls in the framework of the Programmatic Cooperation Framework (PCF) for Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Republic of Moldova, Ukraine and Belarus, funded by the European Union and the Council of Europe and implemented by the Council of Europe.
19/07/2016
The Venice Commission and OSCE/ODIHR transmitted to the Armenian authorities the second preliminary opinion on the Electoral Code of Armenia (as amended on 30 June 2016).
04/07/2016
Berlin - The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe will organise a parliamentary conference on "Media Freedom as a Cornerstone for Democratic Elections", in co-operation with the Venice Commission. The Venice Commission delegation will intervene on standards for media in the context of elections, media ethics and transparency regarding party political interests and on the role of parliaments in ensuring media freedom in the context of elections.
The event is hosted by the Deutsche Bundestag (Federal Parliament of Germany) and falls in the framework of the Programmatic Coo... read more
24/06/2016
On 24 June 2016, the working group of the Venice Commission and the OSCE/ODIHR held discussions with representatives of the opposition on the on-going electoral reform in Armenia. It subsequently held a working meeting with Ms Arpine Hohvanissyan, Minister of Justice and Mr Davit Harutyunyan, Chief of Staff of the Government. Both meetings included discussions on the recent mutual agreement reached in Yerevan between the government and the opposition on the "organisational and technical mechanisms for oversight over the lawfulness of the electoral process".
The Venice Commission and the ... read more
Meeting with representatives of the working group on electoral reform of Ukraine
22/06/2016 - 23/06/2016
Strasbourg.- Members of the working group on electoral reform, created under the auspices of the Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, will come to Strasbourg on 22 and 23 June to have an exchange of views on the content of the reform with representatives of the Parliamentary Assembly, the Venice Commission and different departments and experts of the Council of Europe.
Armenia - electoral matters - request for an opinion
09/06/2016
The Armenian Minister of Justice has requested for an opinion on the final version of the amended Electoral Code, in the light of amendments following the first Joint Opinion made public on 10 May 2016, and to the extent that these amendments implement the recommendations presented in the opinion.
This activity falls in the framework of the Programmatic Cooperation Framework (PCF) for Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Republic of Moldova, Ukraine and Belarus, funded by the European Union and the Council of Europe and implemented by the Council of Europe.
Electoral legislation in Ukraine in the context of European democratic standards - International scientific conference
26/05/2016 - 27/05/2016
Kyiv - Venice Commission in cooperation with the Election Law Institute of Ukraine and National University "Kyiv-Mohyla Academy" organised an international scientific conference on «Electoral legislation in Ukraine in the context of European democratic standards».
Serbia - Early parliamentary elections - Legal assistance to PACE
22/04/2016 - 25/04/2016
Belgrade - A delegation of the Venice Commission provided legal advice to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe delegation observing the early parliamentary elections in Serbia scheduled on 24 April. The PACE delegation observed the opening, voting and counting processes of the early parliamentary elections. The team met with the representatives of political parties, NGOs and international community.
14/04/2016 - 15/04/2016
Bucharest - The Venice Commission organised in cooperation with the Permanent Electoral Authority the thirteenth European Conference of the Electoral Management Bodies. The Conference was dedicated to "New Technologies in Elections: Public Trust and Challenges for Electoral Management Bodies". All details are available on the Conference's dedicated webpage (link below).
This activity partially falls in the framework of the Programmatic Cooperation Framework (PCF) for Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Republic of Moldova, Ukraine and Belarus, funded by the European Union and the Council... read more
12/04/2016 - 13/04/2016
Bucharest - The Venice Commission organised, in co-operation with the Permanent Electoral Authority of Romania, the 1st “Electoral Expert” debates on “Electoral Law and New Technologies: Legal Challenges”. This conference aims in particular to address the implications of constitutional and international law principles in the field. The reports delivered at this occasion will appear in the "Electoral Expert" review published by the Permanent Electoral Authority of Romania, the only review dedicated to electoral law in Europe.
05/04/2016
Kyiv - National Television and Radio Broadcasting Council of Ukraine, Central Election Commission, Verkhovna Rada and the Council of Europe organised a conference on «Media and elections in Ukraine: challenges and possible solutions», which took place on 5 April 2016.
An expert of the Venice Commission presented a report on the following subject: "Media coverage of elections: international experience and Ukrainian context".
The conference was organised with the financial support of the Council of Europe projects “Strengthening freedom of media and establishing a public ... read more
16/02/2016 - 17/02/2016
Lopota Lake, Kakhetia– A delegation of the Venice Commission took part in the 6th Meeting of Electoral Management Bodies orgainsed by the Central Election Commission of Georgia. The topic is “Electoral Integrity”. The Venice Commission delegation intervened on “Migration as a challenge to electoral integrity” and moderated one session of the Meeting.
02/02/2016 - 04/02/2016
Kyiv - The International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES) and the Venice Commission of the Council of Europe co-organised several events entitled the “Electoral System Week”. The week aimed to facilitate an exchange of ideas among experts, academics, politicians and other stakeholders on electoral system design for future legislative and local elections in Ukraine. Members of the Ukrainian parliament, the leading experts in the election system design, representatives of CEC and civil society were invited to participate in the three events that took place at the President hotel on 2 Feb... read more
25/11/2015 - 26/11/2015
Tbilisi - The Venice Commission organised in cooperation with the Central Election Commission of Georgia a regional conference on Gender Equality in electoral processes. Among keynote speakers is Ms Herdís Thorgeirsdóttir, Vice-President of the Venice Commission; she made a presentation on the international standards in the field of elections.
This activity falls in the framework of the Programmatic Cooperation Framework (PCF) for Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Republic of Moldova, Ukraine and Belarus, funded by the European Union and the Council of Europe and implemented by the Cou... read more
Electoral matters - The Venice Commission receives an international award
14/11/2015
Puerto Vallarta, Mexico - The Venice Commission received the International Institutional Engagement Award at the International Centre for Political Studies (ICPS) Electoral Awards Ceremony. It had also been shortlisted in the two other awards' categories: the Gender Equality and the Minority Participation.
Ukraine – Local elections – post-electoral conference
05/11/2015
Kyiv – A delegation of the Venice Commission participates in the conference on the latest local elections of 25 October 2015.
Azerbaijan’s parliamentary elections – Legal assistance to PACE
31/10/2015 - 02/11/2015
Baku – A delegation of the Venice Commission accompanies the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) delegation to advise on the legal framework of the parliamentary elections in Azerbaijan scheduled for 1 November 2015.
The PACE delegation is to observe the opening, voting and counting processes of the parliamentary elections. The team will meet with diplomats, representatives of political parties and of NGOs.
Turkey - Parliamentary elections - Legal assistance to the observation mission of the PACE
31/10/2015 - 02/11/2015
Ankara - At the request of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), the Venice Commission ensures legal assistance to the Election Observation Mission of the Assembly in the context of the parliamentary elections of 1 November 2015.
28/10/2015 - 29/10/2015
Strasbourg - The Venice Commission takes part in the first meeting of the Ad-hoc Committee of Experts on Legal, Operational and Technical Standards for E-Voting (CAHVE)
Ukraine – Local elections
23/10/2015
Kyiv – A representative of the Venice Commission participates in the exchange of views with national experts on the forthcoming local elections of 25 October 2015.
Ukraine – Local elections - Legal assistance to the observation mission of the PACE and the Congress
23/10/2015 - 25/10/2015
Kyiv - At the request of the Parliamentary Assembly (PACE) and the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the of the Council of Europe , the Venice Commission ensures legal assistance to the Election Observation Mission in the context of the local elections of 25 October 2015.
This activity falls in the framework of the Programmatic Cooperation Framework (PCF) for Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Republic of Moldova, Ukraine and Belarus, funded by the European Union and the Council of Europe and implemented by the Council of Europe.
19/10/2015 - 20/10/2015
Bucharest - Permanent Electoral Authority of Romania organises in cooperation with the Venice Commission an international Workshop on Codification of the Electoral Law.
02/10/2015 - 05/10/2015
Bishkek - At the request of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, the Venice Commission ensures legal assistance to the Election Observation Mission of the Assembly in the context of the parliamentary elections of 4 October 2015.
29/09/2015 - 29/09/2015
Tirana - The Venice Commission takes part in the post-electoral Conference "Lessons Learned and Steps Ahead - Administration, Education and Participation".
08/09/2015
Central Election Commission, Tbilisi - The Gender Equality Commission of the Central Election Commission of Georgia and representatives of the Venice Commission meet to discuss best practices in the field of gender equality and the Roadmap for the implementation of the five-year Strategic Plan on gender equality of the Central Election Commission of Georgia.
Cette activité relève du Cadre de coopération programmatique (PCF) pour l’Arménie, l’Azerbaïdjan, la Géorgie, la République de Moldova, l’Ukraine et le Bélarus, financé par l’Union européenne et le Conseil de l’Europe, et mis e... read more
Dominican Republic- 2nd Assembly of the Association of World Electoral Management Bodies (A-WEB)
17/08/2015 - 18/08/2015
Punta Cana.- The Venice Commission takes part in the 2nd Assembly of the Association of World Electoral Management Bodies (A-WEB), which will take place in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic.
20/07/2015
Vienna - The Venice Commission participates in an election seminar following an invitation from the Serbian Chairmanship of the OSCE and the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights of the OSCE (the OSCE/ODIHR). The Venice Commission representatives intervene more particularly on the issue of misuse of administrative resources during elections.
14/07/2015 - 15/07/2015
Kyiv – An expert of the Venice Commission participates in a Political Party Expert Workshop organised by the OSCE/ODIHR, the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES) and the Agency for Legislative Initiatives in cooperation with the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy. Two major themes to be discussed by the participants:
• international trends and challenges in political party regulation;
• key aspects of political party legislation reform in Ukraine.
Lebanon – Launch of the Regional Organisation of the Arab Electoral Management Bodies
08/06/2015 - 09/06/2015
Beirut – The Venice Commission is invited to participate in the official launching of the Regional Organisation of the Arab Electoral Management Bodies.
The main topics of the event are the establishment of the Organisation and strategies for regional cooperation in the field of elections in the Arab world.
A number of countries of the Middle East announced their participation in the event.
Turkey - Parliamentary elections - Legal assistance to the observation mission of the PACE
05/06/2015 - 08/06/2015
Ankara - At the request of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), the Venice Commission ensures legal assistance to the Election Observation Mission of the Assembly in the context of the parliamentary elections of 7 June 2015.
04/06/2015 - 05/06/2015
Paris - Venice Commission organises in cooperation with the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe and the French National Assembly a conference on the implementation of the right to free elections. The challenge of implementing electoral legislation and compliance with standards of the Council of Europe will be the central issues of the conference.
This event is the first parliamentary conference of its kind dealing with electoral matters. It is organised within the Framework Programmatic Cooperation with the Eastern Partnership countries. Elected officials from six count... read more
26/05/2015 - 27/05/2015
Montego Bay, Jamaica - An expert of the Venice Commission takes part in the 10th International Electoral Affairs Symposium, organised by the International Centre for Parliamentary Studies (ICPS) and dedicated to :
•Improving training for EMB staff
•Building transparency and accountability in election financing
•The role of social media in elections
•Effective election dispute resolution
•Engaging with all stakeholders
•Increasing voter turnout
•The value of the vote - equality in the value of votes
•Current and emerging technologies that could transform... read more
25/05/2015 - 29/05/2015
Chisinau – The Venice Commission in cooperation with the training Centre of the Central Electoral Commission of Moldova, organises four training sessions on electoral dispute resolution for proxies, i.e. delegates of political parties participating in the local elections. Three sessions are devoted to:
• best practices on electoral dispute resolution, case studies on campaigning and electoral advertising;
• best practices on electoral dispute resolution, case studies on election day and election results;
• electoral dispute resolution, case studies on: Republic of Moldova... read more
Albania - Workshop on the Rules of Procedure of the Central Electoral Commission
01/04/2015
Tirana - The Venice Commission takes part in a technical workshop of the Central Electoral Commission of Albania on the Rules of Procedure of the Central Electoral Commission, in view of their adoption.
30/03/2015 - 31/03/2015
Brussels – The role of electoral management bodies in ensuring neutrality, impartiality and transparency in elections was the focus of an international conference which took place in the Palais d’Egmont, Brussels, Belgium, on 30-31 March 2015.
More than 160 participants, representatives of 60 countries and several international institutions – including chairs and members of central electoral commissions and administrations from Europe and beyond – held an exchange of views on the standards for neutral, impartial and transparent elections and good practices addressing the functioni... read more
Poland - Regional Roundtable on Election Dispute Resolution
09/03/2015 - 10/03/2015
Warsaw - At the invitation of the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights of the OSCE (the OSCE/ODIHR), a representative of the Venice Commission intervened at a Roundtable on Election Dispute Resolution. This Roundtable saw organised for representatives of the countries beneficiaries of the Eastern Partnership Facility Programme of the European Union. Judges, representatives of the civil society and media took part in this event.
Kiev - Conference on reform of the Law on Local Elections of Ukraine
27/02/2015 - 27/02/2015
Kiev, Ukraine - The Secretary of the Commission, Thomas Markert, made an opening speech at the Conference on reform of the Law on Local Elections: Problems and Solutions, organised by the Konrad Adenauer Foundation and the Committee of Voters of Ukraine.
Meeting on electoral reform in Ukraine
27/01/2015 - 28/01/2015
Strasbourg.- A group of experts from Ukraine met in Strasbourg with the Venice Commission and representatives from the Council of Europe to discuss the electoral reform in Ukraine.
29/11/2014 - 01/12/2014
Chisinau - At the request of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), the Venice Commission ensures legal assistance to the Election Observation Mission of the Assembly in the context of the parliamentary elections of 30 November 2014.
Peru - IX Inter-American meeting of Electoral Management Bodies
24/11/2014 - 25/11/2014
Lima - Upon invitation from the Organisation of American States (OAS) the Venice Commission representatives contribute to the IX Inter-American meeting of Electoral Management Bodies. Among other issues the participants have an exchange of views on such issues as the government's role in the electoral process, the quality of electoral process and strategies for assessing the electoral administration's performance.
This event is co-organised by OAS, the National Jury of Elections of Peru, the National Office of Elections of Peru and “Elections Canada”.
20/11/2014 - 24/11/2014
Tunisia - At the request of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), the Venice Commission ensures legal assistance to the Election Observation Mission of the Assembly in the context of the presidential elections of 23 November 2014.
28/10/2014 - 28/10/2014
Bregenz, Austria - The Venice Commission takes part in the fifth meeting to review developments in the field of e-voting since the adoption of Recommendation Rec(2004)11 on legal, operational and technical standards on e-voting
Ukraine – parliamentary elections - Legal assistance to the observation mission of the PACE
25/10/2014 - 27/10/2014
Kyiv - At the request of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), the Venice Commission ensures legal assistance to the Election Observation Mission of the Assembly in the context of the parliamentary elections of 26 October 2014.
Tunisia – parliamentary elections - Legal assistance to the observation mission of the PACE
24/10/2014 - 27/10/2014
Tunis - At the request of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), the Venice Commission ensures legal assistance to its Ad hoc Committee for the observation of the general elections in Tunisia on 26 October 2014.
07/10/2014
Kyiv - Venice Commission in cooperation with the High Administrative Court of Ukraine organises a Workshop on election disputes resolution.
This activity is part of the Immediate Measures Package for Ukraine in the context of the forthcoming early parliamentary elections of 26 October 2014.
The participants are the judges of the High Administrative Court and 15 judges from regional courts.
Bulgaria – Early parliamentary elections - Legal assistance to the observation mission of the PACE
03/10/2014 - 06/10/2014
Sofia - At the request of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), the Venice Commission ensures legal assistance to the Election Observation Mission of the Assembly in the context of the early parliamentary elections of 5 October 2014.
Republic of Moldova - electoral issues - Training of Trainers
25/09/2014 - 26/09/2014
Chisinau - The Venice Commission in cooperation with the Central Electoral Commission, the Centre for Continuous Training and the National Institute of Justice of Moldova, as well as with the support of DG-II, organise a training on the resolution of electoral disputes.
Republic of Moldova - Assistance to the Central Electoral Commisison
21/09/2014 - 26/09/2014
The Venice Commission provides assitance to the Central Electoral Commission of Moldova in the field of electoral dispute resolution.
16/09/2014
Tbilisi - The Council of Europe and the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES) with the support of the Swiss Confederation and the U.S. Agency for International Development USAID organise a conference on "The 2014 Local Elections: Lessons Learned and Steps Ahead" on 16 September 2014.
The aim of the Conference is to draw lessons from the organisation and management of the 2014 local elections in view of their compliance with European and international standards and for further improving the electoral process in Georgia. Being the last of a series of conferences held... read more
04/09/2014 - 06/09/2014
Bucharest - The Venice Commission will participate on the 23rd Annual Conference of the Association of European Election Officials (ACEEEO), which will take place on 4-6 September 2014, in Bucharest, Romania. The 23rd Conference will discuss two topics: 'Participation of Women in Electoral Process and Public Life' and 'Planning of a General Election’.
OSCE/ODIHR - Political Party Expert Seminar
01/07/2014 - 02/07/2014
Warsaw – A Venice Commission expert participated in the 2014 Political Party Expert Seminar organised by the OSCE/ODIHR and moderated the discussions on the “Separation between the state and political parties”.
26/06/2014 - 27/06/2014
Helsinki - The Venice Commission is organising in co-operation with the Ministry of Justice, the Parliament and the National Audit Office of Finland the 11th European Electoral Management Bodies Conference. This major electoral event will take place in Helsinki, Finland, on 26-27 June 2014. The core topic of the Conference is: “Combating the misuse of administrative resources during electoral processes”. Discussions will take place in a series of three plenary sessions and nine thematic working groups.
More than 90 participants, representatives of 26 countries and 5 international i... read more
Tunisia – electoral complaints and appeals - Round table and workshop for administrative court judges
24/06/2014 - 26/06/2014
Tunis – A group of Venice Commission experts participates in a round table on electoral complaints and appeals process in Tunisia followed by a workshop for judges of administrative courts on complaints and appeals. These meetings are organised by IFES in co-operation with the Administrative Court and the Ministry of Justice of Tunisia with the support from the EU electoral assistance team, the Venice Commission and the Swiss Embassy in Tunisia.
23/05/2014 - 25/05/2014
Kiev - At the request of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), the Venice Commission ensures legal assistance to the Election Observation Mission of the Assembly in the context of the presidential elections of 25 May 2014.
A 52-member delegation of the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly (PACE), headed by Mr Andreas Gross (Switzerland), visits the country from 23 to 26 May to observe the conduct of the presidential election, alongside observers from the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) of the OSCE.
The delegation is d... read more
25/04/2014 - 28/04/2014
Skopje - A the request of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), the Venice Commission ensures legal assistance to the Election Observation Mission of the Assembly in the context of the early parliamentary elections of 27 April 2014.
A 21-member delegation of the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly (PACE), headed by Mr Stefan Schennach (Austria, SOC), visits the country from 25 to 28 April to observe the conduct of the presidential election, alongside observers from the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) of the OSCE.
The... read more
21/04/2014 - 18/05/2014
Tbilisi – At the request of the Central Election Commission of Georgia, an election expert of the Venice Commission in electoral matters will be providing legal assistance to the Central Election Commission of Georgia. The expert is more precisely assisting the Legal Department of the Commission in establishing a training module for district election commissions' members.
11/04/2014 - 14/04/2014
Skopje - A the request of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), the Venice Commission ensures legal assistance to the Election Observation Mission of the Assembly in the context of the presidential elections of 13 April 2014.
A 21-member delegation of the Parliamentary Assembly, headed by Mr Stefan Schennach (Austria, SOC), visits the country from 11 to 14 April to observe the conduct of the presidential election, alongside observers from the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) of the OSCE.
The delegation is due to meet the c... read more
05/04/2014 - 13/04/2014
Venice - The Training Academy is a pilot project which is aimed at young professionals from Morocco, Tunisia and Algeria employed by public or private organisations beneficiaries of EU projects, which are intended to strengthen the human rights, the rule of law and democracy in the region.
The Academy program will enable participants to acquire knowledge and solid competences on human rights, good governance and the principles of the rule of law.
This pilot project is funded by the European Union within the framework of the South Programme, a joint program between the Eu... read more
18/02/2014 - 19/02/2014
Tbilisi – Venice Commission participates in a post-electoral conference entitled "the 2013 Presidential elections: lessons learned and steps ahead" co-organised by the Council of Europe, International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES) and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
46th meeting of the Council for Democratic Elections
05/12/2013
Scuola Grande San Giovanni Evangelista
26/11/2013 - 26/11/2013
Ms Maya Bozhidarova Manolova, Vice-President of the National Assembly of Bulgaria and Chairperson of the ad hoc Committee which prepared the draft new Election Code requested the opinion of the Venice Commission on this draft text.
25/11/2013 - 26/11/2013
The Venice Commission organises a seminar on election observation with the participation of representatives of the Central Electoral Commissions of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine, of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe and OSCE/ODIHR, as well as of international experts.
Ukraine- Roundtable on the electoral reform
14/11/2013 - 14/11/2013
Kyiv - A Delegation of the Venice Commission participates in a roundtable concerning the electoral reform. Different stakeholders will discuss the Ukrainian legislation, following the Joint Opinion adopted with OSCE/ODIHR on this issue in the Plenary of October 2013.
13/11/2013 - 14/11/2013
Sofia - Within the framework of the on-going electoral reform in Bulgaria, a delegation of the Venice Commission meets representatives of the National Assembly of Bulgaria, of political parties and of the civil society as well as the parliamentary committees in charge of preparing draft amendments.
30/10/2013 - 31/10/2013
Skopje - At the invitation of the OSCE Mission to Skopje, an election expert of the Venice Commission takes part in international conference on Political Party and Campaign Financing. This Conference is organised by the OSCE Mission, the European Union Delegation and the State Commission for Prevention of Corruption.
25/10/2013 - 28/10/2013
Tbilisi - At the request of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), the Venice Commission ensures legal assistance to the Election Observation Mission of the Assembly in the context of the presidential election of 27 October 2013.
A 36-member delegation of the PACE, headed by Ms Meritxell Mateu Pi (Andorra, ALDE), visits Georgia from 25 to 28 October to observe the conduct of the presidential election, alongside inter alia observers from the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) of the OSCE.
The delegation is due to meet the cand... read more
Agreement on VOTA database
23/10/2013 - 23/10/2013
The President of the Venice Commission, Mr Gianni Buquicchio, will sign an agreement on the VOTA database with the Electoral Tribunal of Mexico, which will improve the database and will allow to include more updated electoral legislation
18/10/2013 - 19/10/2013
Bucharest – the Venice Commission and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Romania organise the 3nd Intercultural Workshop on Democracy
“Political parties – key factors in the political development of democratic societies”.
This activity brings together representatives of national parliaments and academics from Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Iraq, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Palestine, Tunisia and Yemen who will exchange their experiences on international standards and national legislation and practice in the field of political parties. Among other issues, they will compare the approach... read more
15/10/2013 - 17/10/2013
Seoul - The Venice Commission takes part in the 6th Conference of the Global Elections Organization (GEO) and the Inugural Assembly of the Association of World Electoral Management Bodies (A-WEB).
01/10/2013 - 30/10/2013
Tbilisi - In view of the 27 October Presidential election, an election expert of the Venice Commission is providing legal and technical advice to the Central Election Commission of Georgia.
18/09/2013 - 20/09/2013
St.Gallen, Switzerland – The Venice Commission takes part in a workshop organised by the “Global Democratic Governance” Profile Area of the University of St.Gallen on “Political Rights in the Age of Globalization”. It addresses “Challenges of Organizing Elections beyond Territory and Membership”.
13/09/2013 - 16/09/2013
Strasbourg - A delegation from the Federal Electoral Court of Mexico visits the Venice Commission in order to discuss the implementation of the VOTA database.
12/09/2013 - 14/09/2013
Warsaw - The Venice Commission takes part in the 22nd Annual Conference of the Association of European Election Officials (ACEEEO), dedicated to "the role of information and communication technology and social media in elections".
Tirana- Meeting on the strategic action plan of the Council of Europe in Albania
05/09/2013 - 05/09/2013
A Delegation of the Venice Commission participates in a meeting on the strategic action plan to be developed in Albania, particularly concerning the long term assistance given to the Central Electoral Commission and the future steps.
13/08/2013
Kyev - A delegation from the Venice Commission participated in a roundtable in Ukraine concerning the electoral reform.
Ukraine - request for an opinion on the revised electoral legislation
01/07/2013
On 1 July 2013, Mr O. Lavrynovych, Minister of Justice of Ukraine, asked for an expertise of the Venice Commission on the revised Draft Law of Ukraine on "Amendments to Particular Laws of Ukraine on Improvement on Holding of Elections".
26/06/2013 - 27/06/2013
Chisinau - The tenth Conference of the Electoral Management Bodies, jointly organised with the Central Election Commission of Moldova, started on 26 June 2013.
At the opening of the Conference, President of the Republic of Moldova Timofti encouraged the strengthening of independent and efficient electoral management bodies as a key-factor to democratic elections. He also praised the co-operation with the Venice Commission in the electoral field as well as in other fields of reforms.
Opening remarks were also delivered by the Minister of Justice Oleg Efrim, who also und... read more
Kiev: Roundtable on election legislation
20/06/2013 - 20/06/2013
The Delegation of the European Union to Ukraine and the Embassy of the United States of America to Ukraine, in co-operation with the Venice Commission of the Council of Europe and the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights of the OSCE, are organising a Round Table aimed to discuss the current and future reform of electoral legislation in Ukraine, in the light also of the December 2012 European Council Conclusions and the February 2013 EU-Ukraine Summit Declaration.
Albania- Observation of elections
20/06/2013 - 24/06/2013
Tirana- A delegation of the Venice Commission provides legal assistance to the Ad Hoc Committee of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, which observes the parliamentary elections in Albania of 23 June 2013.
45th meeting of the Council for Democratic
Elections, Venice, 13 June 2013
13/06/2013
11/02-06/07/2013
Tirana - In view of the 23 June 2013 parliamentary elections, two experts of the Venice Commission successively:
1) Provide legal and technical advice to the Central Electoral Commission (CEC), notably:
a. Provide technical advice/support to the CEC for the standardisation and simplification of election procedures and documents, in particular candidacy documents, working documentation of the Commissions of Election Administrative Zones (CEAZ) and Vote Centre Commissions (VCC);
b. Provide assistance to the CEC training unit and develop and deliver a programme of training for tra... read more
The former yugoslav Republic of Macedonia- Meetings on the electoral reform
15/05/2013 - 16/05/2013
A joint Delegation of the Venice Commission and the OSCE/ODIHR met with different stakeholders to discuss the electoral reform before the submission of the Joint Opinion on the Electoral legislation in the Plenary of June 2013.
Bulgaria - Observation of elections
09/05/2013 - 13/05/2013
Sofia - A delegation of the Venice Commission provides legal assistance to the Ad Hoc Committee of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, which observes the parliamentary elections in Bulgaria of 12 May 2013.
19/04/2013 - 19/04/2013
Tbilisi State University - At the invitation of the European Law Students' Association in Georgia (ELSA-Georgia), an election expert and a member of the Secretariat are delivering a lecture on "new technologies and social media versus the European Electoral Heritage".
17/04/2013 - 18/04/2013
Tbilisi - Fourth Eastern Partnership Facility Seminar entitled “the use of administrative resources during electoral campaigns” organised in co-operation with the Central Election Commission of Georgia.
This activity falls in the framework of the Joint Programme of the European Union and the Council of Europe “Support to free and fair elections in the Eastern Partnership countries”.
Representatives from the electoral management bodies of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Moldova are taking part in this Seminar.
ISO - electoral standards
11/04/2013 - 12/04/2013
The Venice Commission will attend the technical committee preparing ISO 17582, the draft quality management standard directed for electoral bodies.
05/04/2013 - 08/04/2013
Podgorica - At the request of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), the Venice Commission ensures legal assistance to the Election Observation Mission of the Assembly in the context of the presidential election of 7 April 2013.
A 11-member delegation of the PACE, headed by Roman Jakič (Slovenia, ALDE), visits Montenegro from 5 to 8 April to observe the conduct of the presidential election, alongside inter alia observers from the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) of the OSCE.
The delegation is due to meet the candidates in t... read more
25/03/2013 - 26/03/2013
Brussels - A delegation of the Venice Commission participates on 25 and 26 March 2013 in an inception seminar co-organised by the European External Action Service, the European Commission’s Service for Foreign Policy Instruments and the Election Observation and Democratic Support project (EODS). The seminar aims at discussing current and future challenges facing election observation missions, testing ideas for strengthening EOM members knowledge and expertise, and reflecting upon the development of EOMs methodology.
ISO (International Organization for Standardization) - Co-operation with the Venice Commission
18/03/2013
The Venice Commission has been accepted as a Category A Liaison to the working group discussing ISO 17582, the draft quality management standard directed for electoral bodies.
Category A Liaisons are organisations that make an effective contribution to the work of a technical committee or subcommittee.
44th meeting of the Council for Democratic Elections
07/03/2013 - 07/03/2013
16/02/2013 - 19/02/2013
Yerevan - At the request of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), the Venice Commission ensures legal assistance to the Election Observation Mission of the Assembly in the context of the presidential elections of 18 February 2013.
A 27-member delegation of the PACE, headed by Ms Karin Woldseth (Norway, EDG), visits Armenia from 16 to 19 February to observe the conduct of the presidential election, alongside observers from the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) of the OSCE.
The delegation is due to meet the candidates in the ... read more
Armenia - Seminar with judges
04/02/2013 - 05/02/2013
Yerevan - At the request of the Judicial School of Armenia, the Venice Commission co-organises a seminar with judges on the topic of electoral disputes that may arise in the context of the presidential election of 18 February 2013. For this purpose, a Venice Commission expert meets around 25 judges during 1.5 day of working sessions.
18/12/2012 - 19/12/2012
Strasbourg - A delegation of the Commission of general legislation of the Tunisian Constituent Assembly visits the Council of Europe and meets experts of the Venice Commission to discuss the issue of electoral systems.
Croatia - Electoral righs of people with disabilities
15/11/2012 - 16/11/2012
Zagreb - At the invitation of the Council of Europe and the Croatian Ministry of Social Policy and Youth, a Venice Commission member takes part in a "Regional Seminar on the Participation of People with Disabilities in Political and Public Life".
The representative of the Venice Commission introduces the Interpretative Declaration to the Code of Good Practice in Electoral Matters on the participation of people with disabilities in elections.
Conference on "the European electoral heritage : ten years of the code of good practice in electoral matters" - Tirana, Albania- Hotel Tirana International, Skanderbeg Square, Build. 8, Entr.1
02/07/2012 - 03/07/2012
9th European Conference of Electoral Management Bodies "Innovative solutions for elections" - Riigikogu Conference Centre, Lossi plats 1a, Tallinn, Estonia
04/06/2012 - 05/06/2012
Third Eastern Partnership Facility Programme meeting "Voters' lists and registers" - Hotel "Salute", Kyiv
26/03/2012 - 27/03/2012
Round table with the judicial school on electoral disputes
29/02/2012 - 01/03/2012
Tunisia - Electoral disputes - Training seminar for lawyers
20/09/2011 - 23/09/2011
Tunis - At the request of the Tunisian Bar, the Venice Commission organises a Training Seminar on electoral disputes in the framework of the forthcoming election of the National Constituent Assembly foreseen on 23 October 2011. This seminar deals with disputes that may arise on:
- the validity of candidatures,
- the respect of the rules on the electoral campaign and
- the results of the election.
Training of trainers : for a fair media coverage of the electoral campaign in Tunisia
06/09/2011 - 09/09/2011
8th European Conference of Electoral Management Bodies "Elections in a changing world" - Hotel Wimberger, Vienna, Austria
12/05/2011 - 13/05/2011
12/05/2011 - 13/05/2011
Sofia – Within the framework of the preparation of an opinion on the Election Code of Bulgaria by the Venice Commission and the OSCE/ODIHR, a delegation of the Venice Commission met the President of the National Assembly of Bulgaria, the Legal Affairs Committee of the Assembly as well as the main political parties. The Venice Commission delegation also met the President of the Constitutional Court, the Central Electoral Committee and the National Association of Municipalities in the Republic of Bulgaria.
Electoral Standards Symposium - "Armenia's Proposed Electoral Code an International Perspective" (Yerevan)
22/11/2010 - 23/11/2010
7th conference of the European European Electoral Management Bodies - "Every Voter Counts"
22/06/2010 - 23/06/2010
London - 7th conference of the European Electoral Management Bodies on "Every Voter Counts", in cooperation with the Electoral Commission of the United Kingdom
The Conference will take place on 22 and 23 June 2010 in Dexter House, No.2 Royal Mint Court, Tower Hill, London.
30/11/2009 - 01/12/2009
The Hague, the Netherlands – the Venice Commission in co-operation with the Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations and the Electoral Council of the Netherlands organise the 6th European Conference of Electoral Management Bodies on “Enhancing participation in elections”
Moldova - Seminar on the functioning of political parties during the election period
26/02/2009 - 26/02/2009
Chisinau - In the context of the forthcoming Parliamentary elections, the purpose of this seminar is to disseminate the principles of the European Electoral heritage in the field of political parties and to ensure due implementation of the Law on political parties and of the Election Code.
The other main purpose of this seminar is to provide recommendations regarding a fair and concrete implementation of the provisions of the relevant legislation by the representatives of political parties.
Conference on "International Standards of Financing of Political Parties and Election Campaigns" (Astana)
01/12/2008 - 01/12/2008
5th European conference of electoral management bodies
20/11/2008 - 21/11/2008
Brussels - The Venice Commission organises this annual conference on the subject of remote voting, in co-operation with the Ministry of Interior of Belgium.
The participants will discuss different experiences of organising remote voting, such as e-voting, postal voting, voting in embassies, etc.
Russian Federation - Electoral issues - Constitutional guarantees for electoral rights
28/04/2008 - 29/04/2008
Moscow - The Venice Commission organises a seminar on "Constitutional guarantees for electoral rights" with the Moscow International Institute for Foreign Relations
Training Seminar "Monitoring of the electoral process 2007 in penitentiary facilities of Ukraine" (Kyiv)
25/09/2007 - 25/09/2007
Strasbourg - 4th European conference of Electoral management bodies
20/09/2007 - 21/09/2007
The Venice Commission organises a conference of electoral management bodies on the subject: "Fighting against electoral fraud – Complaints and appeals procedures". Representatives of national authorities responsible for elections and international and regional organisations discuss such issues as definition of offences – striking the balance between administrative and criminal offences, distance voting – ensuring the secrecy of vote, and sanctions and proportionality principle.
Ukraine - Round table on election-related complains and appeals procedures
14/09/2007 - 15/09/2007
Kiev - The High administrative court of Ukraine and the Venice Commission organise a round table for judges of ordinary and administrative courts on issues related to complaints and appeals procedures during the elections.
Armenia - Electoral issues
25/04/2007 - 26/04/2007
Tsakhkadzor - In the framework of the Special Action Plan to support 2007 Elections in Armenia, the Venice Commission organises a seminar on holding and supervision of elections.
Messrs Didier Vinolas (France) and André Kvakkestad (Norway), international experts, and Mr Gaël Martin-Micallef, member of the Secretariat, provide the participants with their experience and knowledge on the most appropriate manner how to observe the election day by domestic observers. In this respect, a non governmental organisation, named "Justice" is mainly invited, composed of young domestic observers.
22/05/2006 - 23/05/2006
Moscow, Central Election Commission - The Third European Conference of Electoral Management Bodies on the “Development and codification of international standards in the field of elections” is organised by the Venice Commission in co-operation with the Central Electoral Commission of the Russian Federation.
The issues to be addressed during the conference include:
- the development of electoral standards by international organisations and their implementation in different Council of Europe member States,
- the impact of new technologies on electoral process,
- th... read more
Azerbaijan – Electoral training
29/09/2005 - 30/09/2005
Baku – The Venice Commission held, in co-operation with the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Directorate General of Legal Affairs of the Council of Europe, a seminar on the role of judges in the settlement of electoral disputes.
3rd Conference of Global Electoral Organisations organised by ACEEEO (Siofolk)
14/09/2005 - 17/09/2005
Electoral Training Seminar for the Trainers of the Central Election Commission (Baku)
07/09/2005 - 08/09/2005
Meeting on the Reform of the Election Code of the Republic of Azerbaijan (Strasbourg)
01/03/2005 - 01/03/2005
10/02/2005 - 11/02/2005
Strasbourg, Council of Europe - The Venice Commission is organising a Second European Conference of Electoral Management Bodies, following a proposal by different national election administration bodies and supported by the European Commission. This event is a follow-up to a first conference which took place in Palma de Mallorca from 4 to 8 March 2002.
The main focus of the second conference will be such issues as turnout and absentee voting. Representaives of electoral management bodies from 19 countries confirmed their participation in this conference.
A number of i... read more
09/12/2004 - 10/12/2004
Chisinau - Upon the request of the Central Electoral Commission of Moldova the Venice Commission organised an electoral training workshop on parliamentary elections. The participants discussed different aspects of the organisation of elections such as the registration of candidates, the work of electoral commissions before and during the day of elections and the role of national and international observers. The main objective of this activity was to share the experience of organising and conducting elections between international experts and members of the electoral commissions, judges and re... read more
Electoral Training Workshops (Donezk and Kherson)
13/09/2004 - 14/09/2004
Electoral Training Workshop (Baku)
08/07/2004 - 10/07/2004
22/09/2003 - 24/09/2003
In view of the parliamentary elections in Georgia on 2 November 2003, the Venice Commission organises an electoral training workshop for members of electoral administrations, judges dealing with electoral litigations, observers, and proxies.
The training will focus on three stages of the electoral process: the pre-electoral period (electoral campaign, role of electoral administrations), the election day (duties and responsibilities of voters, electoral administrations, observers and proxies), and counting and electoral litigation procedures.
At the last day of the traini... read more
Electoral training workshop (Baku)
08/09/2003 - 10/09/2003
01/09/2003 - 03/09/2003
The Venice Commission is organising, in co-operation with the Albanian Central Election Commission, a training workshop on elections with a view to the next local elections, which will take place on 12 October 2003. The first part of this workshop will deal with electoral litigation and is aimed at members of the Central Election Commission and the Electoral Appeal Body, as well as members of experts of the Constitutional Court. The second part will deal also with the composition and functioning of election commissions as well as with the electoral process itself - including vote counting - ... read more
05/05/2003 - 08/05/2003
Venice Commission organises a training seminar on the electoral issues for the members of electoral commissions in view of the parliamentary elections on 25 May 2003.
The training will deal with the electoral campaign, the organisation of the Election Day, notably vis-à-vis observers and representatives of political parties, but also voters themselves. At the same time, the seminar aims to point out the problematic provisions of the electoral law regarding the post-electoral period in general, and the role of courts and electoral commissions in questions of appeals in particul... read more
Seminar on "the draft electoral law of Latvia" (Riga)
30/04/1992 - 01/05/1992