OSCE/ODIHR experts discuss electoral recommendations with officials and civil society in the Netherlands

A team of election experts from the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) visited The Hague from 4 to 6 October 2017 to present the final report of the ODIHR election assessment mission for the 15 March 2017 parliamentary elections in the Netherlands.

The report’s findings and recommendations were discussed with representatives of state authorities, election administration, political parties and civil society. The discussions focused on specific steps that can be taken by various stakeholders to follow up on ODIHR recommendations.

"While noting that the elections were conducted in a professional manner and characterized by a high level of public confidence in the election administration, our report recommends that existing regulations be codified into electoral legislation so as to ensure legal certainty and coherence,” said Miklos Haraszti, Head of the ODIHR election assessment mission. “We also recommend steps to improve electoral legislation and practice. There is a high level of interest in electoral reform in the Netherlands, and ODIHR is ready to support these efforts.”

In particular, the ODIHR team drew attention to the recommendation on reviewing the need to maintain proxy voting given the existing alternative methods to cast a ballot and with a view to ensuring the secrecy and equality of the vote, while recognizing that proxy voting in the Netherlands enjoys broad support. The experts also highlighted the recommendation on harmonizing the election legislation with the objectives of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, to ensure the full voting rights of persons with all types of mental disabilities, including the right to request assistance to vote from a person of their choice.

Other recommendations discussed included establishing adequate time limits for all election-related complaints, providing explicit legal rights to appeal election results to a competent court as the final authority and creating an independent campaign finance oversight body to safeguard objective and neutral supervision over political finance.

All OSCE participating States have committed themselves to promptly following up on ODIHR election assessments and recommendations.