Back to the basics: election integrity as a eu accession criteria for the western balkan countries

Jasmina  Dimitrieva

doi:10.55312/op.v13i2.375

Autorët

Jasmina Dimitrieva Universiteti “Goce Delčev” i Štip

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.55312/op.v13i2.375

Abstrakti

Komisioni Global për Zgjedhjet, Demokracinë dhe Sigurinë e përcakton integritetin e zgjedhjeve si “zgjedhje të cilat bazohen në parimet demokratike të së drejtës universale të votës dhe barazisë politike siç reflektohet në standardet dhe marrëveshjet ndërkombëtare dhe është profesional, i paanshëm dhe transparent në përgatitjet dhe administrimin e tyre gjatë gjithë ciklit elektoral”. Zgjedhjet me integritet janë çelsi i ruajtjes së stabilitetit, paqes dhe sigurisë, jo vetëm në nivel kombëtar por edhe evropian. Perspektiva e integrimit të vendeve të Ballkanit Perëndimor në BE është parë gjithmonë nëpërmjet lenteve të sigurisë dhe stabilitetit evropian. Nga pikëpamja e integritetit të zgjedhjeve, kriteret e Kopenhagenit 1993 për aderimin në BE, kërkojnë nga vendet kandidate që të arrijnë qëndrueshmërimë e institucioneve duke garantuar demokracinë dhe sundimin e shtetit të së drejtës. Vendet e Ballkanit Perëndimor po përjetojnë një betejë të gjatë për të plotësuar kriteret demokratike të kërkuara nga BE. Ky punim ka për qëllim të hedhë dritë mbi kriteret e Kopenhagenit të vitit 1993 lidhur me detyrimin për të mbajtur zgjedhje me integritet dhe diskuton mbi mënyrat e mbështetjes së BE-së për sigurimin e integritet të zgjedhjeve në Ballkanin Perëndimor, si edhe sinergjitë e krijuara me organizata të tjera rajonale në këtë 16spect. Punimi arrin në përfundimin se, pavarësisht perspektivës së Ballkanit Perëndimor në BE, qytetarët e rajonit meritojnë zgjedhje me integritet dhe të krahasueshme me ato të vendeve të BE së.

Fjalët kyçe:

kriteret e Kopenhagenit, integriteti i zgjedhjeve, standardet e zgjedhjeve, Ballkani Perëndimor.

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References

(1) VV. AA., Deepening Democracy: A Strategy for Improving the Integrity of Elections Worldwide, September 2012, available at www.idea.int/sites/default/files/publications/deepening-democracy.pdf.

(2) Borrell: Europe is Not Complete Without the Western Balkan, in European Western Balkans, 7 October 2020, available at www.europeanwesternbalkans.com/2020/10/07/borrell-europe-is-not-completewithout- the-western-balkan/.

(3) European Council, Conclusions of The Presidency, SN 180/1/93 REV 1, Copenhagen, 21-22 June 1993.

(4) T. MARKTLER, The Power of the Copenhagen Criteria, in Croatian Yearbook of European Law and Policy, Vol. 2, 2006, pp. 343-363. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3935/cyelp.02.2006.23

(5) Ibid.

(6) R. JANSE, Is the European Commission a CREDIBLE guardian of the Values? A Revisionist Account of the Copenhagen Political Criteria During the Big Bang Enlargement, in International Journal of Constitutional Law, Vol. 17, No. 1, 2019, pp. 43-65. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/icon/moz009

(7) Ibid.

(8) Charter on Fundamental Rights of the European Union, article 39.

(9) Council Directive 93/109/EC of 6 December 1993, laying down detailed arrangements for the exercise of the right to vote and stand as a candidate in elections to the European Parliament for citizens of the Union residing in a Member State of which they are not nationals, in OJ L 329 of 30 December 1993, pp. 34-38; amended by the Council Directive 2013/1/EU of 20 December 2012, amending Directive 93/109/EC

as regards certain detailed arrangements for the exercise of the right to stand as a candidate in elections to the European Parliament for citizens of the Union residing in a Member State of which they are not nationals, in OJ L 26 of 26 December 2012, pp. 27-29.

(10) P. CRAIG. G. DE BURCA, EU Law, 2003, pp. 358-395.

(11) Treaty of Lisbon, 2007, article 6, paragraph 3 and Charter on Fundamental Rights of the European Union, article 52.

(12) Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.

(13) OSCE/ODIHR, Observation of the European Parliament Elections, available at www.osce.org/odihr/elections/eu.

(14) Protocol No. 1 of ECHR, article 3 reads as follows: “[t]he High Contracting Parties undertake to hold free elections at reasonable intervals by secret ballot, under conditions which will ensure the free expression of the opinion of the people in the choice of the legislature”.

(15) D.J. HARRIS, M. O’BOYLE, C. WARBRICK, Law of the European Convention on Human Rights, London, 1995, pp. 19-21.

(16) ECtHR (Chamber), judgment of 1 July 1997, application nos. 18747/91, 19376/92, 19379/92, 28208/95 and 27755/95, Gitonas and others v. Greece, para. 39; ECtHR (Fifth Section), judgment of 30 June 2009, application nos. 35579/03, 35613/03, 35626/03 and 35634/03, Etxeberria Barrena Arza Nafarroako Autodeterminazio Bilgunea and Aiarako and Others v. Spain, para 48.

(17) ECtHR (Grand Chamber), judgment of 30 March 2004, application no. 74025/01, Hirst (No. 2) v. the United Kingdom.

(18) ECtHR (Plenary), judgment of 2 March 1987, application no. 9267/81, Mathieu-Mohin and Clerfayt, para 52; ECtHR, Gitonas and Others v. Greece, cit., para 39; ECtHR (Grand Chamber), judgment of 30 January 2007, application no. 10226/03, Yumak and Sadak v. Turkey.

(19) ECtHR (First Section), judgment of 30 September 2010, application no. 20799/06, Kerimova v. Azerbaijan. See also ECtHR, judgment of 10 April 2012, application no. 4641/06, Mammadov v. Azerbaijan (no. 2).

(20) See, among many other authorities, ECtHR (Chamber), judgment of 25 June 1996, application no. 19776/92, Amuur v. France, para 5.

(21) ECtHR, Yumak and Sadak v. Turkey, cit., para. 109.

(22) ECtHR (Grand Chamber), judgment of 22 December 2009, application no. 27996/06, Sejdić and Finci v. B&H.

(23) ECtHR (Fifth Section), judgment of 29 October 2019, application no. 30100/18, Barlija v. B&H. .

(24) ECtHR (Third Section), judgment of 24 May 2016, application no. 41683/06, Paunović and Milivojević v. Serbia.

(25) What is the Electoral Cycle?, in ACE. The Electoral Knowledge Network, available at www.aceproject.org/electoral-advice/electoral-assistance/electoral-cycle.

(26) OSCE, The Copenhagen Document, 1990, paras. 6 and 7 (which is different from the Copenhagen enlargement criteria); OSCE, The OSCE Human Dimension Commitments, 1 Thematic Compilation, 3rd edition, 2011, pp. 80-84; OSCE, Existing Commitments for Democratic Elections in OSCE participating states, 2003.

(27) OSCE/ODIHR, Handbook for the Observation of Voter Registration, 2012, pp. 28 and 55. See also OSCE/ODIHR, Statement of Preliminary Findings and Conclusions with respect to Armenian Presidential Elections, 2013, p. 2.

(28) Check as secondary resource: OSCE/ODIHR, Handbook for Domestic Election Observers (Macedonian translation), 2005, p. 16.

(29) For example, OSCE/ODIHR Final Report on Kazakhstan Early Parliamentary Elections, 2012, p. 27.

(30) See, among others, OSCE/ODIHR, the Election Assessment Mission Report on Iceland, 2013, pp. 9- 10.

(31) OSCE/ODIHR, Final Report on Kazakhstan, cit., 2012, pp. 18 and 28. Although not in Europe or Western Balkans, the report on Kazakhstan has been mentioned for better illustration of the OSCE standards in the election field.

(32) See the latest ODIHR election observation reports for Western Balkans, for example: ODIHR, Special Election Assessment Mission Final Report, Parliamentary Elections of Serbia, 7 October 2020; ODIHR, Limited Election Observation Mission Final Report, Parliamentary Elections of Montenegro, 30 August 2020; ODIHR, Special Election Assessment Mission Final Report, Early Parliamentary Elections of North Macedonia, 15 July 2020; ODIHR, Election Observation Mission Final Report, Presidential Election of North Macedonia, 21 April and 5 May 2019; ODIHR, Election Observation Mission Final Report, General Elections of B&H, 7 October 2018.

(33) The Copenhagen accession criteria also contains a fourth criterion, which reads as follows: “[t]he capacity of the Union to absorb new Member States while maintaining the momentum of the European integration process.”

(34) European Commission, Final Bosnia and Herzegovina 2020 Report, SWD (2020) 350, Brussels, 6 October 2020.

(35) See ECtHR, Barlija v. B&H, cit.

(36) European Commission, EU4Democracy: Support to election reform in the Western Balkans Horizontal

-2027, available at www.ec.europa.eu/neighbourhood-enlargement/sites/default/files/ipa_2020-041- 818.08-mc-eu4democracy electoral_reform.pdf.

(37) European Commission, Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions A Credible Enlargement Perspective for and Enhanced EU engagement with the Western Balkans, COM(2018) 65 final, Strasbourg, 6 February, 2018.

(38) See the latest ODIHR election observation reports for Western Balkans, for example: ODIHR, Special Election Assessment Mission Final Report, Parliamentary Elections of Serbia, cit.; ODIHR, Limited Election Observation Mission Final Report, Parliamentary Elections of Montenegro, cit.; ODIHR, Special Election Assessment Mission Final Report, Early Parliamentary Elections of North Macedonia, cit.;

ODIHR, Election Observation Mission Final Report, Presidential Election of North Macedonia, cit.; ODIHR, Election Observation Mission Final Report, General Elections of B&H, cit.

(39) Sassoli: Observing elections in Montenegro is a priority, in European Western Balkans, www.europeanwesternbalkans.com/2020/07/13/sassoli-observing-elections-in-montenegro-is-a-priority/.

(40) S. LEVITSKY, L. WAY, The Rise of Competitive Authoritarianism, in Journal of Democracy, No. 13, 2002, pp. 51-66. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1353/jod.2002.0026

(41) See for example European Commission, Final Bosnia and Herzegovina 2020 Report, cit.; European Commission, Final North Macedonia 2020 Report, SWD(2020) 351, Brussels, 6 October 2020; M. LYMAN, G. POTTER, Organized Crime (Macedonian edition), Skopje, 2009, pp. 308-310.

(42) European Commission, A Credible Enlargement Perspective for and Enhanced EU engagement with the Western Balkans, cit.