The preconditions for a democratic election (Science and technique of democracy No. 43) (2006)

This publication contains the reports presented at the seminar "Preconditions for a democratic election", organised by the Venice Commission in co-operation with the Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the framework of the Romanian Presidency of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, on 17 and 18 February 2006.Simply avoiding irregularities during the vote or the counting of ballots is not enough for elections to be considered in conformity with the European electoral heritage. There are a certain number of conditions wich must also be respected prior to the vote for it to be considered free and fair. The reports examine the most important of these conditions, respect for fundamental rights, in particular freedom of expression, of assembly and association, as well as equal access to the media and to financing of electoral campaigns, regarding both elections and referendums.