Activities of Katalin CSEH related to 2022/2154(INI)
Plenary speeches (1)
Strengthening the right to participate: legitimacy and resilience of electoral processes in illiberal political systems and authoritarian regimes (debate)
Shadow reports (1)
REPORT on a European Parliament recommendation to the Council and the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy concerning strengthening the right to participate: legitimacy and resilience of electoral processes in illiberal political systems and authoritarian regimes
Amendments (33)
Amendment 15 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E
Recital E
E. whereas over 75 % of people live in non-democratic countries, which limits their basic human rights; whereas shrinking space for civil societya host of features of authoritarian regimes negatively influences the right to participate in genuine elections such as a shrinking space for civil society, voter intimidation, arbitrary disqualification of candidates and other forms of malicious interference by state authorities;
Amendment 21 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F
Recital F
F. whereas the right to participate in genuine elections is not respected in autocratic and illiberal regimes, which conduct sham elections with the goal of entrenching their power; whereas such elections aredo not free and fairrepresent the true will of the people, lack real political contestation and place undue restrictions on the right to both vote and be elected;
Amendment 22 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F
Recital F
F. whereas the right to participate in genuine elections is not respected in autocratic and illiberal regimes, which conduct shamfake elections with the goal of entrenching their power; whereas such elections are not free and fair, lack real political contestation and place undue restrictions on the right to both vote and be elected;
Amendment 24 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital G a (new)
Recital G a (new)
Ga. whereas the EU should pay careful attention when choosing destinations to observe elections in order to avoid being seen as a legitimising force supporting the outcome of undemocratic elections;
Amendment 25 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital H
Recital H
H. whereas the weakening of judicial independence and the rule of law and the overall democratic backsliding in autocratic and illiberal regimes enable these regimes’ legitimisation strategies by removing effective checks on enforcement of repressive laws, control of media and malign interference over digital channels of communications;
Amendment 31 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital I
Recital I
I. whereas autocratic and illiberal regimes have developed new ways and mock-compliance strategies to overcome the costs of fully complying with international election observation standards without overtly denouncing them; whereas they are becoming increasingly well organised in their efforts to provide international legitimacy to each other’s fake elections; whereas these regimes contribute to the erosion of global trust in democratic institutions by copying, developing and multiplying fraudulent practices unchallenged;
Amendment 32 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital I
Recital I
I. whereas autocratic and illiberal regimes have developed new ways and mock-compliance strategies, such as promotion of ‘counter-norms’ within global governance institutions, to overcome the costs of fully complying with international election observation standards without overtly denouncing them; whereas they are becoming increasingly well organised in their efforts to provide international legitimacy to each other’s fake elections;
Amendment 33 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital I a (new)
Recital I a (new)
Ia. whereas autocratic and illiberal regimes undertake domestic and international observation activities that do not comply with the international standards set for domestic and international observers; whereas these fake international observation activities are then used to legitimise elections in other autocratic and illiberal countries;
Amendment 35 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital I b (new)
Recital I b (new)
Ib. whereas citizens of autocratic and illiberal regimes have limited opportunities to observe elections, or, if they do, the regimes do everything in their power to discredit observers or sideline their efforts;
Amendment 41 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital K a (new)
Recital K a (new)
Ka. whereas authoritarian and illiberal regimes infiltrate and use international institutions for their own benefit, including the legitimisation of fraudulent elections;
Amendment 44 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital L a (new)
Recital L a (new)
La. whereas the suspension of democratisation processes and illiberal political tendencies in consolidated democracies have led to democratic backsliding and autocratisation;
Amendment 45 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital L b (new)
Recital L b (new)
Amendment 48 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point a
Paragraph 1 – point a
(a) design and implement more decisive EU actions to promote and protect the right to participate, which is a universal and fundamental human right, as part of a much broader strategy on human rights and democracy support;
Amendment 56 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point d
Paragraph 1 – point d
(d) acknowledge the severity of the difficulties that people living under autocratic and illiberal regimes have in accessing unbiasedfactual election-related information and discerning it from among regime-sponsored propaganda, including reliable information on candidates, voting preferences and the conduct of the election process, which inhibits their ability to understandresources to assess whether elections are truly competitive and whether citizens’ preferences are reflected in the results;
Amendment 59 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point e
Paragraph 1 – point e
(e) counter the narrative promoted by autocratic and illiberal regimes that they have mandates from their citizens as a result of genuine elections; formulate, in this regard, a comprehensive EU global strategy to counter the tools that these regimes use to legitimise elections, such as fake observers and shadow election observation groups in the place of standardised international mission, including those from the EU Members States and EU institutions, such as the European Parliament, and shadow election observation groups in the place of standardised international missions; work with democratic countries to strengthen international institutions to prevent autocratic and illiberal regimes from infiltrating them and using them for their own selfish ends;
Amendment 63 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point f
Paragraph 1 – point f
(f) strengthen the link between election observation work and the EU’s wider support for human rights and democracy using both political and cooperation tools; consider authoritarian electoral legitimisation strategies as early symptoms of underlying non-democratic trends and react accordingly; counter authoritarian narratives that put security and democracy in contrast, thus limiting fundamental liberties under the pretext of state security,
Amendment 66 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point f a (new)
Paragraph 1 – point f a (new)
(fa) counter the attempts of autocratic and illiberal regimes to exploit policy areas such as climate, sport and international development initiatives to falsely reinforce their legitimacy;
Amendment 71 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point h
Paragraph 1 – point h
(h) recognise the crucial role of civil society in delegitimising fake elections in the eyes of local populations; support civil society organisations, human rights defenders and the media, including through capacity building and communications strategies, and by gathering data on violations of the right to participate in genuine elections; support, in particular, local elections observers, whose activities increase people’s belief that their right to participate in genuine elections will be respected and condemn in the strongest terms attacks against them;
Amendment 72 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point h
Paragraph 1 – point h
(h) recognise the crucial role of civil society in delegitimising fake elections in the eyes of local populations; support civil society organisations, democratic opposition forces, human rights defenders and the media, including through capacity building and communications strategies, and by gathering data on violations of the right to participate in genuine elections; support, in particular, local elections observers, whose activities increase people’s belief that their right to participate in genuine elections will be respected;
Amendment 75 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point h a (new)
Paragraph 1 – point h a (new)
(ha) counter efforts by autocratic and illiberal regimes to legitimise each other's elections by fostering a safe space where local election observers can exchange knowledge and best practices at regional and global level;
Amendment 78 #
(ia) increase support for long-term election observation missions, as some of the most serious violations of electoral processes take place before polling day;
Amendment 81 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point j
Paragraph 1 – point j
(j) make use of the EU’s cultural diplomacy and international cultural relations toolbox to strengthen the right to participate, to counter autocratic and illiberal regimes’ narratives attempting to legitimise fake elections and to strengthen a universal democratic culture in non-EU countries;
Amendment 82 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point k
Paragraph 1 – point k
(k) give more support to initiatives related to election observation training and knowledge building; insists on the preference for support and capacity- building for local election observers, rather than election observers coming from EU Member States, as this is a more sustainable approach to democracy- building; reiterates the importance of supporting regional and international networks of election observers;
Amendment 88 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point l
Paragraph 1 – point l
(l) explore the possibility of introducing a standing invitation for election observation within the democratic clause in EU agreements, the Generalised Scheme of Preferences and equivalent mechanisms, given the current reluctance of many countries to send election observation invitations to the EU; support Parliament’s Democracy Support and Election Coordination Group and its work, especially in the framework of election observation;
Amendment 90 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point m
Paragraph 1 – point m
(m) include the outcomes of the EU’s election observation missions as an essential part of the overall framework for relations between the EU and the country concerned; include an adequate follow-up on the recommendations of the EU election observation missions with an increased involvement of the European Parliament;
Amendment 92 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point m
Paragraph 1 – point m
(m) include the outcomes of the EU’s and OSCE ODIHR election observation missions as an essential part of the overall framework for relations between the EU and the country concerned;
Amendment 95 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point n
Paragraph 1 – point n
(n) address the right to participate and all other aspects related to electoral integrity in non-EU countries through EU human rights dialogues;
Amendment 98 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point o
Paragraph 1 – point o
(o) use the EU Global Human Rights Sanctions Regime (the EU Magnitsky Act) for persons responsible for serious breaches of the right to participate and of democratic election standards; considers that penalties should be further developed against persons involved in fake election observation missions, including members of parliaments and politicians of the EU Member States and Members of the European Parliament;
Amendment 99 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point o
Paragraph 1 – point o
(o) use the EU Global Human Rights Sanctions Regime (the EU Magnitsky Act) for persons responsible for serious breaches of the right to participate and of democratic election standards;
Amendment 101 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point p
Paragraph 1 – point p
(p) recognise the role of the EU’s election observation missions and highlight the role of the European Parliament in providing evidence on whether elections are genuine and further improve this tool, including by strengthening its visibility; and condemning fake election observation missions;
Amendment 103 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point p
Paragraph 1 – point p
(p) recognise the role of the EU’s and OSCE ODIHR election observation missions in providing evidence on whether elections are genuine and further improve this tool, including by strengthening its visibility;
Amendment 105 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point q
Paragraph 1 – point q
(q) forge a coalition of democratic countries and multilateral institutions, such as the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights and the Council of Europe, to counter the legitimisation of fake elections and fake observers more effectively in international forums, in particular the UN;
Amendment 109 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 – point t
Paragraph 1 – point t
(t) lead the efforts to give more visibility to the UN Declaration Of Principles For International Election Observation and the work of those organisations that signed it and are active in election observation; consider calling for the list of signatories to the Declaration Of Principles For International Election Observation to be updated, with a view to reinforcing its credibility and establishing a clear-cut way of differentiating between genuine observation groups and fake observers; apply similar approach towards the Global Network of Domestic Election Monitors uniting 251 members, including regional networks and individual non- partisan election monitoring organizations spanning over 89 countries and territories on five continents; explore ways to undermine the legitimacy of shadow organisations and fake observers;