CIVIL announces that it has decided to intensify its monitoring from today. Part of the long-term observers, who were deactivated because of the postponement of the elections due to the coronavirus crisis, will be reactivated. All of them together, within the structure of the Organization, will receive additional guidelines for intensified monitoring of the election process in the country.

Respect for citizens’ right to vote is a priority for CIVIL. CIVIL’s monitoring also focuses on political financing and political corruption, as well as fake news, hate speech and black propaganda. CIVIL also conducts monitoring of political parties, the media and of institutions.

Reports that come from citizens across the country are of great importance for CIVIL’s monitoring in general, thus also for the election monitoring. The abundance of addresses to the organization is just another indicator that the organization enjoys great trust among the people.

Even before the political parties took a stance, CIVIL’s position was that the parliamentary elections should be held as soon as possible, that is, for the election process to continue immediately after the state of emergency in the country is cancelled, also in accordance with the statements of the State Election Commission that the process has stopped at 24 days before election day.

In this past period, CIVIL’s team has been working on adopting several methodological updates appropriate to the needs for protection against the spread of the coronavirus.

CIVIL informs the public and its supporters, members and collaborators that in its protocols for work it has incorporated the measures and recommendations for protection against the coronavirus that are exceptionally important and demands maximum compliance to them.

To the list of 14 categories of election irregularities, CIVIL today adds also the so-called “corona category”, which includes cases of non-compliance to the measures for protection against the coronavirus during the election process.

CIVIL started with the monitoring, with varying intensity, from the moment when the decision for early parliamentary elections was adopted at the leaders’ meeting on October 20, 2019. According to the methodology for long-term monitoring of political events and processes in the electoral context, CIVIL remained active on the ground also during the coronavirus crisis. Nevertheless, CIVIL’s monitoring was less intensified and with maximum compliance to the government measures and recommendations for protection against the spread of the coronavirus.

Starting from today, the monitoring will be conducted with full capacity. At the same time, all candidates for short-term observers will be contacted, in order for them to once again confirm their participation in CIVIL’s monitoring on election day, whenever that may be. Simultaneously, they will be informed about the new protocols and the new way in which the training will be carried out in the following period, immediately after the date for elections has been determined.

CIVIL has provided funds for engaging 220 observers, of which 22 are long-term, however, the Organization is working on increasing the number of both long-term and short-term observers.

CIVIL, as an organization for human rights and freedoms (established in 1999), has been conducting election monitoring since 2008, according to a specific and unique methodology that is continuously evolving according to the needs and changes in the social and political processes.