Articles 18 and 19 do not include representatives of political parties or candidates as “observers”. This may be due to the fact that political parties and candidates have the right to appoint a “temporary representative” to the CEC (Article 33), ZEC (Article 35), LGEC (Article 41), and VCC (Article 45). However, it is not clear that the “temporary representative” provided in these articles are the same as the Article 97 “representatives of the electoral subjects”. The text of Article 97 suggests that there might be a category of “political party observer” that is distinct from the “temporary representative”. If this is the case, and as Articles 18 and 19 do not address the rights of a “political party observer”, there is the possibility that the Code recognizes a “political party observer” without specifically stating the rights and duties of such an observer. Additionally, neither article addresses the issue of whether an observer can ask questions to the members of the Commission. This omission could unduly be considered by a commission chairman as a reason to ask an observer to leave even when he/she does not hamper the process of voting and the administration of the election (Article 19(d)). At any rate, this last clause should be interpreted according to the principle of proportionality. The OSCE/ODIHR and Venice Commission recommend that these matters be clarified in Articles 18 and 19.
