OSCE/ODIHR presents electoral recommendations in Lithuania

A team from the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) visited Vilnius from 11 to 13 June 2013 to present the final report of the Election Assessment Mission for last year’s parliamentary elections in Lithuania.

The report’s findings and recommendations were presented at a roundtable discussion organized by the Parliament, the Seimas, with the participation of representatives from the Central Election Commission, parliamentary parties, government, the Constitutional and Supreme Administrative Courts and civil society.

The report recommends that the legislation include explicit provisions for observation by citizen observers and international monitors. It also recommends that disparities in the size of electoral districts be addressed to ensure the equality of voting rights, in line with international good practice.

Other recommendations contained in the report highlight the need to sufficiently regulate certain aspects of political financing, de-criminalize libel to enable more vibrant pre-election debate and streamline the process for challenging election results.

The team emphasized that ODIHR is ready to assist in the implementation of the recommendations made in the final report, upon the request of the authorities of Lithuania. All OSCE participating States have committed themselves to promptly follow up on ODIHR’s election assessments and recommendations.