The OSCE’s Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) considers that the European elections, which took place from 6 to 9 June, were “competitive”, “offering voters a wide choice of political alternatives”, in preliminary conclusions published on Monday 10 June. It also noted that the way the elections were run differed from one EU Member State to another, and that they were marked by political polarisation and increasing disinformation.
Ingibjörg Sólrún Gísladóttir, head of the ODIHR’s special election assessment mission, emphasised in a press release “the rise of intolerant rhetoric in this campaign and physical attacks on politicians”. The debates on migration have been particularly divisive, and sexist or xenophobic attacks have become recurrent. National and European efforts to combat these phenomena have been noted, but remain insufficient, according to the ODIHR.
The report notes the administrative efforts made by the Member States, which were able to organise elections involving 361 million voters in 27 countries. However, it regrets the lack of transparency on the part of certain States, both vis-à-vis citizens and international organisations, as well as the lack of coverage of the election by the national media, which gives free rein to disinformation, particularly on social networks.
Although “national laws generally provide a sound basis for respecting fundamental civil and political rights”, ODIHR questions the validity of elections whose procedures differ from one country to another. Among the differences between Member States, the report highlights the age of voting rights, access to polling stations by disabled people and access to information by linguistic minorities.
The importance given to digital processes also raises questions, since they are regulated by the national framework, the example of Estonia being the most convincing.
Link to the ODIHR report: https://aeur.eu/f/cld
Similar conclusions from Election-Watch.eu
On Monday 10 June, Election-Watch.eu published the preliminary conclusions of its Election Assessment Mission (EAM) for the 2024 European Parliament elections, which are similar to those issued by the ODIHR. In the same way, it criticises the lack of harmonisation of national electoral legislation at European level, the lack of inclusion of minorities in both voting and candidacy, and the physical attacks suffered by certain political players and citizens. It also raises the issue of campaign financing, which depends on national legislation that is often inadequate.
Link to the Election-Watch.eu report: https://aeur.eu/f/cle (Original version in French by Paul Charles - Intern)