Since 2014, Expert Forum is an important stakeholder in monitoring electoral processes in Romania. We have monitored 8 elections and one referendum. This is our story in a nutshell:
The 2014 elections and efforts to improve legislation
In 2014, we started our projects related to monitoring and improving electoral processes in Romania with the European Parliament elections. Among others, we developed the www.7anideacasa.eu platform, a tool for voter education. Although we started with a more modest number of observers, it was an experience that helped us to get organized and prepare for the upcoming elections.
Also in 2014, we observed the elections for the President of Romania. We accredited observers, were involved in the organization of elections abroad, and provided electoral assistance on election day together with partners.
2015 – Efforts to improve legislation and Internet voting observation in Estonia
Towards the end of the year, we put a key issue on the public agenda – drafting a unified Election Code.
Also during this period, we worked with partners in the Barrier-Free Politics Coalition to improve legislation on the formation of political parties and facilitating their access to politics. We participated in debates in parliament, meetings with political parties and with the President of Romania and contributed with technical suggestions to change the legislation.
Our colleague, Septimius Pârvu, traveled to Estonia to observe Internet voting, a topic also on the public agenda in Romania. As a result of the visit we released a report with conclusions and possible solutions for Romania.
In Romania, we continued our campaign to support improvements regarding issues such as out of country voting, including the adoption and support for postal voting. We were actively involved in the drafting of legislation and criticized the lack of transparency in the process of reforming the legislation, as well as the technical issues affecting the efficient organization of voting abroad.
2016 elections
In 2016, we continued our observation work, focusing on local and parliamentary elections. Starting with the parliamentary elections, we worked together with other partners in the FiecareVot Coalition, which included very diverse organizations in Bucharest and across the country.
We set up an electoral information and assistance center for both local and parliamentary elections, providing citizens with access to the platform www.votcorect.ro and Telverde 0800 080 200 for questions and complaints.
The monitoring reports included the most important findings related to election days, but reflect our views in regards to the whole electoral process. At the local level, we observed for the first time in a structured way at the residence visa-based migration used by political parties to influence the outcome in small localities. In the parliamentary elections we released for the first time preliminary findings from our observation campaign, a practice we continued in subsequent elections.
Also in 2016, we organized thematic debates on how to improve the organization of elections, including on topics such as the participation of magistrates in the electoral process.
At the same time, Expert Forum had an active presence in the Republic of Moldova, by monitoring the presidential elections.
2018: The constitutional referendum
The year 2018 was marked by sustained efforts in monitoring the referendum to amend the Constitution. For starters, we explained why the referendum itself is a bad idea and should not be organized. EFOR, as part of FiecareVot coalition, accredited observers, who monitored the conduct of the referendum across the country and abroad. We also developed useful tools for voter education, such as interactive maps of voter turnout (as the electronic turnout monitoring system – SIMPV – was not in place). At the end of the observation campaign FV released a report, launched in a public event where all relevant authorities participated.
2019
In 2019, EFOR diversified its monitoring activity and we strengthened our capacity to observe new topics such as political financing. One of the innovations we developed in 2019 was the www.banipartide.ro platform, an interactive tool that allows anyone to search for information on party and campaign financing since 2006. The project has proven to be a long-term project that is constantly evolving.
In the European Parliament elections, the FiecareVot Coalition accredited the largest number of observers in recent years, more than 1,300, covering almost 3,000 polling stations. In the presidential election, 850 observers covered 1,500 polling stations. In 2019, data collected by EFOR and partners with the help of observers was presented at parliamentary hearings on election integrity and publicly contradicted the unjustified assumptions of the commission investigating fraud at the European Parliament elections. In the end, it turned out that we were right and that SIMPV had not been misused to alter the results. We released thematic technical reports on campaign financing, women’s participation in elections or the use of postal voting, and public positions on breaches of data protection legislation or limitations on voting abroad.
On election days, we again organized the Election Assistance Center, which included the call center and the www.votcorect.ro platform. EFOR members, together with partners, answered more than 3,500 requests and questions received on the website and in the call center service organized on election days.
We released the monitoring reports on the European Parliamentary and Presidential elections together with relevant institutions, journalists, observers, electoral experts, and at the end of the year we proposed a list of reforms needed for 2020.
After the European Parliament elections, we again advocated the need to improve the organization of elections abroad. Some of our electoral reform proposals were included in the legislation, including extending voting hours, the number of days, and the adoption of postal voting.
2020 – pandemic elections
We have been very active in putting on the public agenda the issue of organizing 2020 elections in pandemic conditions. We organized a debate with the leaders of political parties and a debate with international experts, in partnership with the International Foundation for Electoral Systems, in which we presented to the Romanian authorities possible measures that should be taken in this context. Throughout the year we called on the Government, the Permanent Electoral Authority and other authorities to take steps to clarify the legislation and to allow voters to vote without barriers – many of which were reflected in the way the elections were organized.
We continued to monitor all issues important to the electoral process – election administration, legislation, political financing, postal voting, equal opportunities for competitors, and accredited observers for election days. We published weekly reports on competitors’ campaign finance, reports on women’s participation in elections and violations of the law, and final observation reports for local and parliamentary elections. We also continued to provide assistance to voters, through the call center on election days and the www.votcorect.ro platform. Before the parliamentary elections we also organized a workshop for journalists and interested citizens on campaign finance monitoring.
After the 2020 elections, together with our partners in the Coalition for the Electoral Code ACUM! we called on the parties to start drafting a unified electoral code and sent proposals to the Parliament.
Electoral pause and preparation for 2024, the year of all elections
Even though no general elections were organized for three years, EFOR continued its monitoring work:
- We published numerous reports on the subsidies political parties receive
- We called for the reduction of funds and the tranaparentization of media contracts
- Published annual reports on political funding
- Conducted a study on the representation of women in Romanian politics
- Put open data in the electoral field on the public agenda
- We called for the apointment independent electoral authorities
- We have sent numerous proposals for legislative amendments, including on the basis of previous reports we have published on various areas
- Organized workshops across the country to monitor the abuse of public resources
- We started to monitor more closely parties’ spending on social media and the themes they propagate
- We continued electoral and democracy education activities
Since the beginning of 2024, we have been opposing the electoral clustering and have published numerous reports on this issue, but we participated in public debates where we have made legal arguments against the Government Emergency Ordinance that regulated the merge. In 2024, Expert Forum maintains its commitment to oversee the electoral process from its position as coordinator of the VotCorect Coalition, together with the Center for Civic Resources (Constanța), Civica (Iași), Center for the Study of Democracy (Cluj), Rădăuțiul Civic (Suceava) and the Electoral Observatory. With a solid track record and 13 years of expertise behind us, we are determined to bring positive change and ensure transparency and integrity in electoral processes in Romania. Read more about what we’ll be doing in 2024 here.
In our journey so far we have been joined by civil society partners from home and abroad, with whom we have collaborated in different formats and on different themes, funders, observers, media. The FiecareVot! initiative was launched in 2016 and has brought together several non-governmental and civic organizations active at the national level: Geeks for Democracy, Expert Forum, Funky Citizens, Forum Apulum, Electoral Observatory, Resistance TV, Center for Civic Resources, Civica and Center for the Study of Democracy. Code for Romania provided the Vote Monitor observer app. For most of the elections, independent experts such as Maria Krause, who was an essential part of the team, and Alexandru Popescu, who constantly supported us with IT expertise, were close to us.
We thank them all for their support and appreciate their contribution – often voluntary – to the consolidation of Romanian democracy.