Observation of the referendum

a. Both national and international observers should be given the widest possible opportunity to participate in a referendum observation exercise.

b. Observation must not be confined to election day itself, but must include the assessment of the question put to the referendum, the referendum campaign and, where appropriate, the voter registration period and the signature collection period. It must make it possible to determine whether irregularities occurred before, during or after the vote. It must always be possible during vote counting.

c. Observers should be able to go everywhere operations connected with the referendum are taking place (for example, vote counting and verification). The places where observers are not entitled to be present should be clearly specified by law, and the reasons for such exclusion should be clearly stated.

d. Observation should cover respect by the authorities of their duty of neutrality.