election-watch.eu

The President of the National Council, Wolfgang Sobotka, confirmed that an exchange about electoral reforms will take place on 13 September 2018 at Parliament. Representatives of the parliamentary clubs, the Ministry of the Interior, the OSCE and wahlbeoabchtung.org will deliver statements. Wahlbeobachtung.org has been invited to present its own electoral reform proposals to the Members of Parliament.

Link to the invitation by the National Council President to the Electoral Reform Meeting on 13. September 2018 (in German)

Link for those interested to register to attend the Electoral Reform Meeting event at Parliament (in German)

Wahlbeobachtung.org has already met with the President of the National Council and the Parliamentary Director to elaborate on various electoral process reform proposals. Additionally, wahlbeobachtung.org has been in contact with all constitutional spokespersons of political parties represented in Parliament and provided its electoral reform proposals. A revised electoral reform catalogue has also been published in the Journal für Rechtspolitk in early 2018.

Election Observation.org welcomes the request of the President of the National Council to “seek the expertise of civil society” in order to work together on a common and consensual basis. “Suffrage is at the heart of democracy. Electoral changes require a broad and intensive discussion process of all parties represented in parliament, “said the President of the National Council.

Wahlbeobachtung.org had previously organized a panel discussion on electoral reforms on 3 October 2017, immediately before the National Council election, and published the following recommendations on the required electoral reform process:

• Comprehensive electoral reforms should be part of the next government coalition agreement and implemented in consultation with civil society within the next legislative period.
• Electoral reforms should lead to a simplification of electoral processes and electoral law, while respecting Austria’s international and regional obligations.
• Electoral reforms should aim at improved civic participation and increased transparency of electoral processes.

Wahlbeobachtung.org conceptualized the exchange of views on electoral law reforms in parliament in mid-September as a prelude to a series of events to discuss specific topics; such as improving absentee voting and electoral cards, improving “Wahlbeisitz” and electoral administration, improving party and campaign finance, strengthening first-time voter information, legally guaranteed electoral access for people with disabilities, and implementing existing international recommendations.

The team of wahlbeobachtung.org stands ready to contribute their knowledge and experience on international standards and recommendations as well as best practices of other OSCE states and taking lessons from country comparisons.

The announcement of the event on electoral law reforms in parliament and with reference to wahlbeobachtung.org has been published by the following media:

Der Standard, 27. Juli 2018 “Briefwahl vor Wahltag soll erleichtert werden”

Die Wiener Zeitung, 27. Juli 2018 “Anstoß zur Briefwahlreform”

Salzburger Nachrichten, 27. Juli 2018 “Sobotka lädt zu Gesprächen über das Wahlrecht ein”

News, 27 Juli 2018 “Sobotka lädt zu Austausch mit Klubs und NGOs”

Die Presse, 30. Juli 2018 “Jeder soll Wahlen anfechten können”