The Liberty Coalition for a Free and Fair Election is committed to ensuring transparency and legality in Hungary’s electoral process.
Our observation mission aims to assess the conduct of the elections in an impartial and professional manner, contributing to the protection of democratic standards.
Liberty Coalition established to safeguard the integrity of Hungary’s elections
The international election observation mission Liberty Coalition for a Free and Fair Election (LCFFE) will monitor the electoral process and the April 12 elections with a team of nearly one hundred members, including an expert core group.
An international election observation mission has been established and is arriving in Hungary to oversee the transparency, legality, and integrity of the electoral process and the parliamentary elections. The monitoring activities of the Liberty Coalition for a Free and Fair Election (LCFFE, hereinafter “Liberty Coalition”) will focus on the lawful conduct of the elections, as well as on assessing whether Hungarian voters are able to express their political will freely, under democratic conditions and without undue influence, and whether the election results faithfully reflect the will of the people.
The Liberty Coalition is composed of nearly one hundred observers from various parts of the world (Argentina, Austria, Czechia, Kenya, Poland, Germany, Italy, Spain, Serbia, Tanzania, and the United States), many of whom represent well-known professional organizations and institutes.
As underlined in the Code of Good Practice in Electoral Matters (Guidelines and Explanatory Report) adopted by the Venice Commission, observation of elections plays an important role as it provides evidence of whether the electoral process has been regular or not. Under the internationally recognized standards affirmed by the Code, the fundamental mission of election observers is to safeguard five principles underlying Europe’s electoral heritage: universal, equal, free, secret and direct suffrage. However, the role of the election observers is not only to monitor compliance with those hard core, constitutional principles of electoral law, but also to consider if certain basic and necessary conditions of a democratic state based on rule of law, are met.
According to the Declaration of Principles for International Election Observation, as adopted at the United Nations on 27 October 2005, international election observation must be conducted with respect for the sovereignty and the laws of the host country, as well as national authorities, including electoral bodies. International election observation, which focuses on civil and political rights, is part of international human rights monitoring and must be conducted on the basis of the highest standards of impartiality vis-à-vis national political competitors.
Impartiality, as one of the fundamental characteristics of international electoral observation, is achieved and demonstrated by systematic, comprehensive and accurate gathering of information on the laws, processes and institutions related to the conduct of elections and other factors concerning the overall electoral environment. The impartial and professional analysis of such information and the drawing of conclusions about the character of electoral processes must be based on the highest standards of accuracy of information and impartiality of analysis.
Liberty Coalition decided to adopt the following principles, based on the best international practices as affirmed in the Guidelines on an Internationally Recognized Status of Election Observers, adopted by the Venice Commission’s Council for Democratic Elections:
1. Election observers must not interfere in the electoral process and must be politically impartial with strict respect for the principle of impartiality and non-interference. International election observers should never exhibit any personal bias or preference related to issues which may have political or electoral implications and should abstain from doing any political, partisan activity.
2. Observers must base their reports and conclusions on factual and verifiable evidence, with professional accuracy and strict respect to impartiality.
3. Election observers should comply with all national laws and regulations of the host country. The status of election observer implies a strict respect for the legal framework of the country holding the elections. Election observers must present a respectful attitude towards electoral officials, other national authorities and all other participants of the process and finally should behave at all times, including in their leisure time, in a professional and irreproachable manner.
4. The findings of international election observation missions provide a factual common point of reference for all persons interested in the elections, including the political competitors. International election observation missions are expected to issue accurate and impartial statements to the public. In mass-media appearances observers should always distinguish their individual views from observations officially supported by the observation mission.
The Coalition is led by two distinguished experts: Anna Wellisz, a communications specialist (United States), and Jerzy Kwaśniewski, a lawyer and legal expert (Poland).
The mission’s expert group (eight members in total) will begin its work two weeks prior to election day, while the remaining analysts and observers will arrive in Hungary on an ongoing basis.
The Liberty Coalition will examine the entire electoral process, conducting consultations with electoral bodies, constitutional institutions, political parties, the media, and representatives of civil society. On election day, the mission will be present at polling stations across the country. Its ultimate objective is to issue a comprehensive and well-founded assessment of the conduct of the elections, as well as of the integrity of the electoral process.
Establishment of the Liberty Coalition has also been prompted by criticism – raised across the political spectrum – regarding the mission of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), which is currently present in the country. Such criticism, together with the fact that the OSCE rejected the applications of several highly qualified experts to participate in its election observation mission to Hungary, reinforce the conviction that there is a need for deployment of an additional, international election observation mission composed of qualified and impartial members.
Liberty Coalition expresses hope that competition for excellence in following the best practices, international standards and principles of impartial, democratic and respectful election observation will support the Hungarian people in the genuine act of democratic elections that are an expression of sovereignty, which belongs to the people of a country, the free expression of whose will provides the basis for the authority and legitimacy of government.
As footnotes or hyperlinks:
• Code of Good Practice in Electoral Matters. Guidelines and Explanatory Report. adopted by the Venice Commission: https://rm.coe.int/090000168092af01
• Guidelines on an Internationally Recognized Status of Election Observers, Adopted by the Council for Democratic Elections and by the Venice Commission: https://www.venice.coe.int/webforms/documents/default.aspx?pdffile=CDL-AD(2009)059-e
Source of cover photo: Adobe Stock
