III. Comments on the Text on the Draft Electoral Law 

F. Nomination and Registration of Candidates

A candidate’s registration may be cancelled by the election commission that registered the candidate for any of the reasons listed in Article 61.4. Eight separate grounds are stated for cancellation of registration, including that the candidate has been found guilty of committing a “deliberate” crime. This issue has already been discussed and is subject to a recommendation of the Venice Commission and the OSCE/ODIHR. The OSCE/ODIHR and the Venice Commission recommend that this restriction be narrowly defined to apply only to a person convicted of specified crimes that are so serious that forfeiture of suffrage rights satisfies the principle of proportionality.[1]

[1] See the Code of Good Practice in Electoral Matters, point I.1.1.d.(iii) and the European Court of Human Rights judgments in this respect, cited in footnote 11.