Election-Watch.EU is happy to welcome two new colleagues who recently joined the team. Their expertise will directly support the successful implementation of our latest project, the Network for Engagement, Electoral Democracy and Standards in the EU (NEEDS EU).
Achilleas Stergiou joined as Administrative and Finance Officer and leads the financial oversight and operational compliance for the NEEDS EU project. Working under the EU’s Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values (CERV) [...]
democracy, election obervation, NEEDS EU, observer accreditation, transparency
European Union,General,International
Brussels, 12 February 2026: Election-Watch.EU participated in the CERV programme kick-off meeting organised by the European Commission (EC) in Brussels, bringing together organisations implementing projects under the Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values (CERV) Programme. Besides learning more about the administration of the CERV project the EC provided more insight into the strategic context of EU democracy support, including recent policy developments [...]
centre for democratic resilience, CERV, citizen led election observation, Civil Society, democracy shield, European Commission, inclusion in elections
European Union,General,International
Strasbourg, 18 February 2026: Election-Watch.EU has submitted a policy contribution to the consultation process surrounding the Council of Europe’s New Democratic Pact for Europe, responding to the challenges identified in the 2025 Report of the Secretary General of the Council of Europe on democratic resilience across Europe.
Our submission highlights the central role of electoral integrity as a cornerstone of democratic legitimacy. [...]
accountability, citizen led election observation, Council of Europe, election security, European elections, inclusion in elections, transparency, transparency of political campaign
Brussels, 10 February 2026: Election-Watch.EU submitted a written contribution to Members of the European Parliament’s Special Committee on the European Democracy Shield, in response to the draft report on its findings and recommendations, published in December 2025.
The submission highlights the importance of emphasising the importance of electoral integrity in the European Democracy Shield framework, particularly in the context [...]
citizen led election observation, data protection in elections, election security, equality, eu strategy for civil society, european democracy shield, inclusion in elections, transparency, transparency of political campaign
Vienna, 3 September 2025: Since the 2000s, various institutions have begun conducting international election observation missions, frequently parallel to those of established organisations. While many of these institutions collaborate actively and report on the qualities and shortcomings of electoral processes, others have endorsed the same elections that have been condemned by others. One such institution is the Commonwealth of Independent States [...]
accountability, cis observers, election observers, election security, transparency
Vienna, 10 July 2025: This year’s Electoral Integrity Conference featured a panel on ‘Monitoring Electoral Integrity’. Election-Watch.EU researcher Markus Pollak contributed two papers to the conference, which were presented in the panel.
In collaboration with Clément Desrumaux, one of Markus Pollak’s research project examines the recruitment practices of OSCE election observers. Their draft paper, „It’s a Small World! For 20 years, it’s [...]
accountability, election obdservation, electoral integrity, transparency
Brussels, 6 June 2025: The European Commission published its Report on the 2024 elections to the European Parliament here (COM(2025) 287 final), accompanied by a detailed Staff Working Document here (SWD(2025) 147 final). The documents provide a comprehensive overview of how the elections were conducted, the challenges encountered, and lessons for strengthening democratic resilience across the EU.
Importantly, the Commission’s report [...]
Monrovia, Brussels, 7 March 2025: In March 2025, Election-Watch.EU joined the European Partnership for Democracy (EPD) on a joint mission to Liberia, alongside fellow members of the AHEAD Liberia project. Taking place from 28 February to 8 March, the mission was conducted in close cooperation with the EU Delegation in Monrovia, and [...]
European Union,General,International
Brussels/Vienna, 19 March 2025: The Electoral Integrity Project and The Westminster Foundation for Democracy organised an online conference on “Electoral Reform: Democratic Principles and Global Practice” on 19-21 March 2025.
Armin Rabitsch and Markus Pollak from Election-Watch.EU presented their paper: What remains to be done: Thinking through Reforms of the European Parliament Elections using a powerpoint presentation.
The paper revisits the historical [...]
2024 EP elections, citizen led election observation, electoral reforms, participatory electoral reforms