OSCE facilitates visit of Montenegro’s State Election Commission to Slovenia

Representatives of the Montenegrin State Election Commission (SEC) visited their Slovenian counterparts in Ljubljana from 3 to 5 July 2019 to hear about the country’s experiences of administering local and parliamentary elections.

The visit is part of the OSCE Mission to Montenegro’s project on elections which seeks to improve the transparency of the Montenegrin SEC, as well as increase the level of public confidence in the electoral process.

Ɖorđije Vukčević, SEC Chairman and Veljo Čađenović, SEC Secretary, together with four Commission advisers, met with representatives of the Slovenian State Election Commission, Ljubljana’s City Electoral Commission and the Ministry of Home Affairs.

“The meetings provided a wealth of insights to the Montenegrin SEC, as well as a platform to improve co-operation with regional election administration bodies,” said Vukčević.

Darko Brajović, National Programme Officer in the Mission to Montenegro, said that if voters are unable to get the information they need easily, public trust in the electoral system may decline. “The study visit saw both Commissions having a discussion on ways to tackle this issue,” said Brajović.

The visit helped the Montenegrin SEC to establish closer co-operation with Slovenian election administration bodies, which will help the Commission to exchange knowledge and ideas on how to deliver well-run elections.

The OSCE Mission to Montenegro remains committed to working with the State Election Commission to improve its transparency and public trust.