III. DISCUSSION OF THE DRAFT NATIONAL ELECTIONS LAW AND THE DRAFT ELECTION COMMISSIONS LAW

F. Collection of signatures for presidential candidacy

Article 52(9) states that “signature lists are considered invalid if the requirements established by this article are not observed”. This is a very broad provision, which would require a signature list to be invalidated should a voter sign the list more than once. It is questionable whether one invalid signature should have the effect of invalidating hundreds or thousands of valid signatures. The Venice Commission and OSCE/ODIHR recommend that this provision be amended so that it is more narrowly tailored to address the specific irregularity that has been noted in regard to the signature list.