Documents

2022

Policy Alert

Single Voting Day 2022 held amid war and restrictions of fundamental freedoms

EPDE
Russia

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The Single Voting Day in Russia was conducted amid the ongoing war against Ukraine and restrictions on fundamental freedoms at home. Freedom of speech and expression are under attack as independent voices and sources of information have been systematically shut down. Simultaneously, the election conditions were fundamentally unfair, as candidates were blocked from participating.

 

EPDE Publication

Media and Freedom of Expression in the EU – Eastern Partnership and Russian Federation

EPDE

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Document

This report is published at a time of Russian invasion of Ukraine. It underscores the central role of freedom of expression in the maintenance of democracy at home, as well as international order and security abroad. This report provides the analysis and conclusions on the state of freedom of expression and the work of the media in seven countries of the EU Eastern Neighborhood, namely Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, Ukraine, and Russia.

 

EPDE Publication

Puzzling rules-equal game?

EPDE
EU in focus

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This study compares political finance regulations across the EU and identifies common challenges and possible responses to those. The recommendations of this study seek to enhance EU-level regulation of political finance with the aim to replicate this at the national level.

 

Election report

Referendum 2022: Final report

BHC & Viasna
Belarus

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Significant violations of national legislation and the fundamental principles of holding fair and democratic elections during the referendum, including depriving observers of the opportunity to witness the vote count, does not give grounds to trust the election results announced by the CEC.

 

Policy Alert

A tilted playing field favors the government in Hungary’s April 3 parliamentary elections

EPDE
Hungary

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Parliamentary elections are taking place in Hungary on April 3 and will be decided among two political blocks in an unprecedentedly polarized environment. Several concerns raised regarding the elections relate to the legal environment, while others to the uneven playing field, especially regarding the media landscape and campaign financing, which all tilt the playing field toward the incumbent government.

 

Belarus

Constitutional referendum – findings and conclusions

BHC & Viasna
Belarus

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The constitutional referendum took place against the backdrop of a profound socio-political crisis that began immediately after the 2020 presidential election and the pervasive atmosphere of repression targeting those disloyal to the authorities, as well as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The Human Rights Defenders for Free Elections issued their preliminary report of their expert mission to this referendum, examining the lack of any electoral reforms since the 2020 post-election crisis; the intransparent manner in which the draft amendments were presented and discussed publicly without outside critical involvement; the numerous violations of international standards and national legislation in preparing and conducting the referendum. There was no independent monitoring of all types of voting or the vote count due to the CEC restrictions on the number of observers at polling stations.