election-watch.eu

Vienna, May 17, 2018. – In a meeting with the President of the National Council Mag. Wolfgang Sobotka and parliamentary Director Dr.  Harald Dossi the team of wahlbeobachtung.org provided an overview of international recommendations as well as its own electoral reform proposals. During the conversation, possible improvements to the composition of polling station commissions, the postal voting system, the right of appeal ahead of an election, among other issues were discussed. In particular, the possibility of national election observation has been emphasized, which is not yet provided for in the legal framework, although Austria has committed itself as participating State of the OSCE. Election Observation.org explained that 42 out of a total of 44 recommendations of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) as well as the 6 out of the 11 recommendations of the Council of Europe’s Group against Corruption (GRECO), have not yet been fully implemented. Wahlbeobachtung.org has handed over the article on electoral reform proposals from the recent issue of the Journal für Rechtspolitik (Journal of Legal Policy). Further meetings with the President of the National Council and the parliamentary Directorate are planned.