Nusa Dua, 29 April - 4 May 2007
Third Standing Committee - Democracy and Human Rights
Promoting diversity and equal rights for all
through universal democratic and electoral standards
Deputy Doina DREÞCANU
Romanian Inter-Parliamentary Group
Mr. Chairman,
Dear colleagues,
Thank you for giving me the floor. I am truly honored to speak before you on such a topical theme of utmost relevance for us members of parliament.
Let me refer briefly to the draft
resolution, which, in my view, needs to be complemented with
certain aspects that are integral to the role of parliaments in
promoting democratic electoral processes.
Parliaments must be the first to monitor closely and on permanent basis the electoral and related legislation, with a view to revising it, if needed. The electoral reform should never be considered a completed process. In fact, in order to bear fruits, namely to lead to a genuine political representation and effectively promote participative democracy, electoral systems have to reflect accurately the political, social and cultural realities within the society.
In Romania, following the country’s accession to the European Union, the electoral legislative framework was developed recently by the adoption of a new Law on the organization and holding of the elections to the European Parliament.
At the same time, a joint Committee of the two Chambers was set up with the view to updating the legislation on the election of the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate, of the President of Romania, of the local public administration authorities, as well as the law on the financing of electoral campaigns. I would like to underline that in order to ensure the best representativity, this body includes not only members of all parliamentary political groups, as any other Committee, but also the chairpersons of the two Standing Committees on Equal Opportunities for Women and Men, and representatives of the Government and the Permanent Electoral Authority.
To conclude, let me add
that the participation of parliamentarians in international election
observation, at the invitation of the respective States and in
conformity with internationally recognized principles, needs to be
encouraged. A parliamentary input, both impartial and professional,
brings added value in support to democratic electoral processes
throughout the world.
Romanian parliamentarians participate actively in electoral observation missions under the aegis of the parliamentary assemblies of the OSCE, Council of Europe and NATO. We are also in favor of initiatives that aim at strengthening the parliamentary dimension of election observation, in particular the increase of international cooperation in this area and the further development and implementation of common standards.
Thank you.