European Union,General,International

How best to assess hybrid threats in elections?

12 Dec , 2024  

Brussels, 11-12 December 2024: Elections globally are facing increasing challenges to their integrity, driven by disinformation, cyberattacks, foreign covert operations, and other hybrid threats. This necessitates a rethinking of approaches by both election organisers and election observers to better understand these risks and adapt processes accordingly. For citizen and international observers, this raises questions about whether current methodologies [...]  read more

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Austria,European Union,International

Telegram and its role in Austria’s 2024 election

9 Dec , 2024  

Vienna, Berlin, 9 December 2024: In the recent general elections, Austria’s Freedom Party (FPÖ) secured its position as the largest party in Parliament for the first time. Election-Watch.EU examined the role of Telegram in shaping political discourse during this period in a collaborative effort with [...]  read more

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Austria,European Union,General,International

Venice Commission recognises election observers as human rights defenders

8 Dec , 2024  

Venice, 6-7 December 2024: The Venice Commission (VC; European Commission for Democracy through Law; Council of Europe) acknowledged Election Observers as Human Rights Defenders. Venice Commission Report Election Observers as HR Defenders

The Venice Commission points out in particular that:
➡️ States should adopt the necessary provisions in national legislation to provide sufficient possibilities to observe elections;
➡️ All states should foresee in [...]  read more

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General,International

International election observer organisations convene in Gdansk

22 Nov , 2024  

Gdansk, 20-22 November 2024: Election-Watch.EU participated for the first time as an endorsing member at the annual implementation meeting of the Declaration of Principles for International Election Observation in Gdansk/Poland. Hosted by OSCE / ODIHR, and opened by former Polish President and Nobel Peace Prize Winner Lech Wałęsa, the event took place in [...]  read more

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Austria,European Union,General,International

Election Assessment Mission Report with good practice examples published

30 Sep , 2024  

Brussels, Vienna, 30 September 2024: Today, Election-Watch.EU published its Final Report with key findings, good practices and recommendations of the Election Assessment Mission (EAM) to the 2024 European Parliament Elections. From the beginning of May to mid-June, the Mission assessed the European elections across the 27 EU Member States based on six key principles: integrity, inclusion, accountability, transparency, equality, and resilience.

Reference report [...]  read more

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European Union,International

IFES Symposium on AI & Disinformation

13 Sep , 2024  

Prague, 13 September 2024: The International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES), the Regional Europe Office organised a Symposium on “AI, Disinformation, Coordination: Lessons from Europe’s 2024 Elections in Countering Influence Operations” in Prague.

Building on the recently published paper by IFES and the German Marshall Fund’s Alliance for Securing Democracy, this symposium brought together democratic actors from across the region and from a variety [...]  read more

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European Union,General,International

The EU’s AI Act and its Impact on Electoral Processes

10 Sep , 2024  

Brussels, Vienna, 10 September 2024:  The EU passed several landmark legislative acts to regulate the digital space surrounding elections, including the AI Act, the Digital Services Act (DSA), the Digital Markets Act (DMA), the European Media Freedom Act (EMFA) and the Regulation on the transparency and targeting of political advertising (TTPA), enhancing the broader fundamental rights and safeguards framework, ahead of the June 2024 European Parliament (EP) elections.

 [...]  read more

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European Union,General,International

The EU’s Artificial Intelligence Act and its impact on electoral processes

9 Jul , 2024  

Vienna, 9 July 2024: The purpose of the EU AI Act is among others to “ensuring a high level of protection of health, safety, fundamental rights enshrined in the Charter of Fundamental Rights, including democracy, the rule of law and environmental protection, against the harmful effects of the AI systems in the Union”. Adopted by the Council of the EU on 21 May 2024, the AI Act is expected to be published in the EU Official Journal during the second half of July 2024. 

Armin [...]  read more

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