Slovakia presidential election 2019: ODIHR observation mission final report

Following Slovakia’s presidential election on 16 and 30 March 2019, the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) has published its final report summing up the election observation.

The election was competitive, pluralistic and respected fundamental freedoms. It was conducted in a professional manner, and the election administration enjoyed a high degree of public confidence. Nevertheless, the complaints and appeals mechanisms and the powers of the State Commission for Elections and the Control of Political Parties Funding (SEC), which has a mandate related both to the administration of elections and to party finance oversight, remained under-regulated or vague. At the same time, intolerant rhetoric in a number of online outlets played a substantial role in campaign discourse.

Key recommendations include:

• strengthening the administrative and financial capacity of the State Election Commission to ensure its full independence;

• promoting the independence and impartiality of the campaign finance oversight by entrusting the competence in campaign finance control to an independent institution;

• decriminalizing defamation and introducing a reasonable ceiling for damages in civil libel cases;

• ensuring the long-term pluralism of the media by strengthening the public broadcaster through adequate financing, while enhancing its independence through transparent management appointment mechanisms.

ODIHR deployed an Election Assessment Mission (EAM) on 6 March 2019 to observe the presidential election. The EAM focused on administration of election, legal framework, candidate and voter registration, conduct of the campaign and the media environment, oversight of campaign finance, and the electoral dispute resolution. All 57 countries across the OSCE region have formally committed to follow up promptly on ODIHR’s election assessments and recommendations.