Elections  •  11 9 11 October EAM al Tu rk ey :E ar ly pa Sw rli am itz en er la ta nd ry :F ed Ca er al na da :P ar lia m Po en la ta nd ry :P ar lia m en Cr ta oa ry tia :P ar lia m Sp en ai ta n: ry Pa rli am en A ta rm ry en ia : Co re ns fe ti re tu nd ti umon al EET oc U kr ai ta n: Ky rg yz s 10 4 October LEOM ne :L id e Pr es l ca Be la ru s: Lo ol do va an ia :L oc al M 8 14 June Pa rli am nt ia l y en ta ry EOM 11 25 October 12 1 November from countries that do not generally second observers, ODIHR continues to leverage the extra-budgetary Fund for Diversification. In 2015, the Fund enabled the deployment of 14 longterm and 15 short-term observers. The continued support of OSCE participating States for this extra-budgetary programme is instrumental in ensuring broad geographical diversity in election observation missions. In 2015, ODIHR continued to rely upon the extra-budgetary Election Observation Sustainability Fund. This fund is used by ODIHR to bridge the gap between the number of requested observers and the number of those seconded by the OSCE participating States. The recruitment and participation of professional observers covered by the Sustainability Fund complements the secondment process and the recruitment of observers covered by the Fund for Diversification. In 2015, the Sustainability Fund allowed ODIHR to send 147 additional short-term observers as part of missions deployed in connection with the two rounds of local elections held in Ukraine — 83 observers to the first and 64 to the second round, of those observers 46 per cent were ­women. 13 18 October 14 19 October 15 25 October 16 8 November Key findings ODIHR election observation activities over the course of 2015 revealed a mixed picture of participating States’ implementation of their commitments for democratic elections. Positive practices included: • Strengthened legal frameworks that are generally accessible and aspire to respect OSCE commitments and international obligations, with a number of improvements to legal frameworks resulting directly from enhanced follow-up on OSCE/ ODIHR recommendations; • Greater attention to the issue of inclusion, specifically with regard to women’s participation, the rights of persons with disabilities and national minorities; and • Increased awareness of the importance of campaign finance, including strengthened regulations and oversight mechanisms. At the same time, several aspects continued to pose challenges. Common weaknesses include: 17 20 December 18 6 December • Limitations to the right to be elected that unreasonably impede specific persons or groups, including independent candidates from running. In some cases, candidate rights were denied due to restrictive application of candidate registration procedures, particularly during the verification of support signatures; • Lack of a free campaign environment and the necessary conditions to allow parties and candidates to campaign on a level playing field. Inequitable access to the media continued to be a shortcoming in many instances. The abuse of state resources in favour of incumbents caused concern in several countries, particularly when such abuse amounted to intimidation of voters; • Lack of confidence in the impartiality and independence of election administration bodies, including concerns about undue influence by state institutions. At times, transparency and accountability were lacking in the counting and tabulation of votes; and • Shrinking space for election observers, both citizen and international, and a persistent lack