OSCE Mission to Montenegro welcomes State Election Commission’s decision to open its sessions to public

Siv-Katrine Leirtroe, Deputy Head of the OSCE Mission to Montenegro, welcomed the commitment by the State Election Commission (SEC) to amend internal rules and procedures to ensure its meetings are public.

This has been a long-standing recommendation by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR).

“This decision will result in greater openness and accountability of the SEC, which is a necessary step in ensuring a transparent election management body,” said Leirtroe, adding that the Mission will be working with the SEC in the coming months to ensure all meetings can be livestreamed.

According to the Survey on Public Perceptions and Confidence in Election Management Bodies in Montenegro, commissioned by the OSCE Mission to Montenegro and published in November 2021, there was a need to further strengthen the transparency and professionalism of election management bodies. As many as 87.3% of citizens believed that opening sessions to the public would contribute to greater public confidence in the work of the SEC and the election process as a whole.