Canada early federal election 2021: ODIHR election expert team final report

Following the 20 September 2021 early federal election in Canada, the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) has published its election expert team final report. The report concluded that the election authorities effectively organized the early election, building on proactive efforts to make the electoral process more inclusive and an improved legal framework that had addressed some previous ODIHR recommendations.

The report also noted areas that would benefit from further review, including guarantees for election observation and regulations on campaign advertising. The report offers 11 recommendations to improve the conduct of elections and to increase transparency and public confidence in the electoral process.

Key recommendations include:

• Guaranteeing by law the access of citizen and international observers to all stages of the electoral process, in line with OSCE commitments;

• Considering adopting temporary special measures to promote an increased representation of women in parliament;

• Harmonizing disclosure requirements for political advertising among different types of media;

• Updating rules and definitions on issue-related political advertising and providing clear guidance.

ODIHR deployed an Election Expert Team for this election on 8 September 2021. All 57 countries across the OSCE region have formally committed to follow up promptly on ODIHR’s election assessments and recommendations.