ticularly relevant, and necessary, to address issues arising from the emergence of new voting technologies. A. Transparency Transparency of the election process is fundamental to democratic elections. It is the people’s right to know that an electoral process honestly respects their will, and transparency is the means whereby this right should be fully assured. A second core element of transparency is the right of the electoral competitors to seek political office. Transparency provides the basis for electoral competitors to ensure that their right is respected, and the basis to seek redress if it is abridged. A possible additional commitment on transparency should make clear that transparency applies to all elements of the electoral process, including issues arising from the use of new technologies in elections. Issues related to voting technology are increasingly important, as illustrated by the OSCE 2005 Supplementary Human Dimension Meeting on “Challenges of Election Technologies and Procedures” and Recommendation Rec (2004) 11 by the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe on e-voting. As noted in the Supplementary Human Dimension Meeting, the concern exists that there is “a real or perceived lack of transparency” with new voting technologies. Voters must be sure that the secrecy of casting their vote, and the accuracy of recording their vote, is not compromised generally, as well as by the introduction of new voting methods. Therefore, the decision to introduce new voting technologies must be fully transparent, and preceded by a broad discussion and public hearings. The actual implementation of such election technologies should be equally transparent, in accordance with strict technical standards, which can ensure broad public confidence in the election results. Ultimately, any new voting technology must be perceived by voters as, and in fact be, transparent, verifiable, accountable, reliable, secure, and provide for a possible manual recount of the votes. Voting systems should go through rigorous examination by independent testing laboratories to guarantee that they do indeed meet these standards. Procedures should be in place to ensure that software cannot be changed after certification, and that it can be verified before and after an election. The codes used in electronic voting equipment must be publicly accessible, at least to the competent electoral authorities. Vendors or manufacturers of election equipment should not be engaged in politics and should be prohibited from making contributions to political parties or individual campaign funds. Further, any aspects of the election process that are carried out by the private sector should be fully supervised by governmental / electoral authorities, and ultimate responsibility for the integrity of the election process should rest strictly with the authorities. The issue of technology in elections could be addressed in an additional commitment on transparency, and provide that electronic voting and any new voting technology should permit verification by domestic stakeholders, access for (international and domestic) observers and must be carefully designed and carried out in order to preserve ballot secrecy and accountability, while safeguarding against fraud and undue influence on a voter. Any new voting tech86 Common Responsibility: Commitments and Implementation