Brussels (Brussels Morning) – The European parliamentary elections were competitive, offering genuine political choices. However, unequal registration practices, political polarization, and disinformation posed challenges, highlighting the need for further action at EU and national levels.
What Are the Concerns About Registration Practices?
The European parliamentary elections were competitive and showed voters a wide choice of genuine political choices. However, differing practices for voter and candidate registration formed unequal conditions and there were worries about growing political polarization and disinformation, international observers from the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) stated in a statement.
“These elections were a significant democratic exercise, covering 27 countries that were voting for representatives to a single body,” expressed Ingibjörg SĂłlrĂşn GĂsladĂłttir, head of the ODIHR Special Election Assessment Mission. “But the increasingly bigoted rhetoric in the campaign and physical attacks on politicians are of a serious problem, and show the need for further action at both EU and national level.”
More than 360 million voters were registered to vote, in elections professionally managed by national election bodies that generally enjoyed a high level of public trust. However, most Member States do not deliver full access for both citizen and international observation, which reduces the transparency of the election process.
How Do National Laws Affect Voting Rights?
The legal framework for the European Parliament elections is mixed, with member states adopting their own national laws and restrictions. While national laws generally supply a good basis to hold democratic elections and assure civil and political rights are respected, the right to vote as well as requirements for voter and nominee registration across the EU vary significantly, creating unequal prerequisites for citizens in different member states. Tries to harmonize legislation at the European level have been created but have not found consensus.
Freedoms of expression, assembly, and association were admired, and voters had an extensive choice of political alternatives. However, in the course of the campaign, migration and some other issues became particularly divisive. There were regrettable examples of political violence, as well as sexist and xenophobic language.Â
Observers also reported that a number of high-level EU officials continued to campaign vigorously in the run-up to the election, raising questions about the potential mishandling of public resources. Positively, this was the first election where legislation was introduced to enhance oversight of the online campaign, including requirements to fight disinformation.
Increased responsibility and more initiatives both at the European and national levels were reported, but more efforts are required for the election of under-represented groups, including Roma and Sinti, to form a completely inclusive institution.Â
Is There Gender Equality in the European Parliament?
Women are relatively well represented in the European Parliament and political life, but the EU is far from reaching the goal of Europe-wide gender equality, and the level of representation differs considerably between countries. Limitations on the availability of data materials in different languages for ethnic and linguistic minorities in some places are against international norms. Further, some countries fell short of their lawful obligations to ensure voters with disabilities could take part in the election process.
Across the EU, the media repeatedly opted to cover domestic politics rather than the European election campaign. The biased coverage of the campaign reduced the possibility for voters to learn about candidates and their political programmes, limiting them from making a fully notified choice on election day. The feed of disinformation and harassment both online and offline created a challenging working environment for journalists in a number of countries.
ODIHR’s Special Election Assessment Mission started its work on 15 May and will conclude on 14 June. The observation mission concentrated on issues identified during a needs assessment mission and examined the extent to which the elections were held in line with the promises made by all OSCE states to hold democratic elections, as well as with other global standards and national legislation.
