III. Comments on the Text on the Draft Electoral Law 

F. Nomination and Registration of Candidates

Article 60 of the draft electoral law provides grounds for refusing candidate registration, including errors and inaccuracies in nomination papers as well as substantive failure to meet the requirements for candidacy. The OSCE/ODIHR final report on the 2012 parliamentary elections noted that “441 nominees were not registered, mostly on the grounds that necessary documents had not been provided; many were rejected for minor omissions, which is at odds with paragraph 24 of the 1990 OSCE Copenhagen Document.”[1] The OSCE/ODIHR recommended that the law include notification mechanisms to ensure that prospective candidates are informed of mistakes or omissions to allow them to make timely corrections in order to be registered. This recommendation is addressed with the new Article 60.3 which requires the relevant election commission to “immediately notify the party’s representative” or “MP candidate” of mistakes and inaccuracies. Candidates are allowed until “the next day following the receiving of the respective notification of the election commission” to re-submit corrected documents.

[1] See OSCE/ODIHR Election Observation Mission Final Report on the 28 October  parliamentary elections, page 14.