ODIHR experts discuss electoral recommendations with French authorities

Elections experts from the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) met with electoral stakeholders in Paris on 21 and 22 February 2018 to present the recommendations from ODIHR’s final report on the 2017 presidential election in France.

The report’s findings and recommendations were presented to officials from relevant state institutions, including the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, the Supreme Audiovisual Council and the National Commission for Control of Electoral Accounts and Political Finance.

Recommendations discussed relate to specific aspects of the election, such as campaign financing and the media, which were the main thematic areas assessed by the ODIHR election expert team.

“We appreciate the opportunity to engage in meaningful follow-up in France to discuss ODIHR’s recommendations,” said Steven Martin, Senior Adviser at the ODIHR Elections Department. “We look to the authorities to consider them as part of a possible review to further enhance the country’s well-developed electoral process.”

While France has a robust legal and institutional framework regulating political and campaign finance, ODIHR experts underscored that some provisions on the disclosure of income and expenditures could be further strengthened to enhance the transparency and accountability of campaign finance. The ODIHR experts also discussed measures to further strengthen the mandate of the campaign finance oversight authority. The experts and the authorities agreed to explore possible steps for co-operation and the provision of assistance to further improve the conduct of elections.

The follow-up visit, the first of its kind to France, was conducted in response to an invitation from the Ministry for Foreign Affairs. All OSCE participating States have committed themselves to following up on ODIHR's election assessments and recommendations.