II. Comments on the text of the draft law

I. Guarantees of activities of political parties, candidates and official observers

Official observers from parties, candidates or NGOs have broad and comprehensive rights which are detailed in Article 77(9). One troubling provision would allow official observers to “take all necessary measures to stop illegal actions during voting and vote counting at the PEC.” This right is too broad and could potentially be abused by some electoral subjects. It would be better to indicate that official observers should immediately notify the PEC, DEC, CEC or other relevant authorities if they observe actions they believe to be illegal rather than take action themselves.