OSCE/ODIHR report says Monaco’s parliamentary elections administered professionally, but some aspects of the legal framework could benefit from further review

The parliamentary elections in the Principality of Monaco on 10 February 2013 took place in a competitive environment and were administered professionally. Candidate registration was inclusive and the campaign was vibrant and competitive. However, further steps could be taken to bring the electoral process closer in line with OSCE commitments, concludes the final report by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR).

The report, released on 10 May, notes that overall, the legal framework provided adequate conditions for democratic elections, but the lack of explicit legal provisions for citizen and international election observation needs to be addressed. In practice, however, authorities  ensured that the OSCE/ODIHR election expert team had full access to all stages of the electoral process.

According to the report, some other areas would also benefit from improvement. Specifically, the requirement of five years of citizenship to stand as a candidate, as well as the lack of provision to stand independently as candidates, are both at odds with the right of citizens to stand for office without discrimination, as provided for by paragraph 7.5 of the 1990 OSCE Copenhagen Document.

Among the report’s other recommendations is that the current practice of proxy voting should be reconsidered to ensure full compliance with OSCE commitments on the secrecy of the vote.