Democracy in Action: New CEC regulation on observers restricts independent election monitoring

The coalition of non-governmental organizations for election observation, Democracy in Action, assessed that the Election Regulation on election observers, adopted by the Central Election Commission on April 29, contains provisions that go beyond the framework established by the Law on General Elections and directly interfere with the manner in which election observation is conducted by civil society organizations.

Unlike the previous regulation, which based the accreditation of observer organizations on a formal verification of legal requirements, the new regulation turns the process into a restrictive mechanism, an obstacle and a means of control over civil society in election monitoring, Democracy in Action stated.

“This regulation does not derive from the law and as such undermines the freedom of association and the principle of legal certainty of organizations. Moreover, the very process of drafting and adopting this regulation was carried out without any prior consultation with civil society organizations and without public notification,” the organization stated, as reported by Ekonomia Online.

As explained by Democracy in Action, the new regulation grants the CEC an unlawful mandate to refuse accreditation of observers based on information from competent institutions regarding a “risk to the legal and constitutional order.”

“This responsibility is not within the competence of the CEC, as only courts have the authority to decide on such matters. Furthermore, a provision (Article 3.4) has been introduced that gives the CEC powers beyond the law to request, at its own discretion, additional documentation regarding the sources of funding of election observation organizations. Election observation is not conditioned by the existence of special funds, as the right to observe, as a civic right, can also be exercised on a voluntary basis. In addition, the issue of NGO funding sources is regulated by other legislation, the oversight of which falls under the competence of other state institutions. As a criterion for accreditation of observer organizations, the regulation (Article 3.2) also requires the submission of detailed data, including founders, governance structure and annual reports of NGOs, thereby significantly expanding the scope of information that must be submitted for accreditation. The law clearly prescribes that the criteria for accreditation are the registration certificate and the statute of the organization, through which the organization’s activity is verified, which should be in the field of elections or human rights,” the statement reads.

On the other hand, in order to preserve the integrity of the electoral process, Democracy in Action states that it has continuously recommended that the CEC should not allow the engagement of commissioners, election staff or observers who have been convicted or are under investigation for electoral offenses.

“However, in the new regulation (Article 3.8) this restriction is provided only for observers, and not for commissioners and election staff—which constitutes discrimination and a violation of the principle of equality before the law. Additionally, the responsibility for verification should lie with the CEC and other public institutions, not with observer organizations or the observers themselves,” the statement says.

The regulation also stipulates that only accredited observer organizations may send observers to meetings of the CEC and municipal election commissions, which, as they state, is contrary to Article 9 of the Election Law, which emphasizes that CEC sessions are open to the public, except in cases when issues related to CEC personnel are discussed.

“Democracy in Action recalls that election observation is crucial for the transparency of the electoral process and public trust in its results. The introduction of additional conditions and requirements beyond the law directly affects the way observation is carried out in practice, limiting the space for oversight, and thereby the level of integrity and legitimacy of the electoral process.

For these reasons, ‘Democracy in Action’ calls on the CEC to urgently review Election Regulation No. 04/2026, remove provisions that exceed the legal basis and ensure that the regulation of election observation is based on clear, equal and applicable democratic standards for all,” the organization emphasized.