Venice Commission - Observatory on emergency situations
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Disclaimer: this information was gathered by the Secretariat of the Venice Commission on the basis of contributions by the members of the Venice Commission, and complemented with information available from various open sources (academic articles, legal blogs, official information web-sites etc.).
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17. If parliamentary and/or, where applicable, presidential elections were scheduled to take place during the Covid-19 emergency: were they held? Were special arrangements made, and if so, which arrangements? Was it necessary to amend the electoral legislation? What was the turnout? How was it compared to the previous elections? If they were postponed, what was the constitutional or legal basis for doing so? Who took the decision? For how long were they postponed? Was this decision subject and submitted to parliamentary control or judicial review?
No
Referendum on Amendment of Article 213 of the Constitution has been suspended by virtue of art 208 of the Constitution. The Law on Referendum provides that “5. A referendum scheduled but not held for the reasons of martial law or situation of emergency shall be held not earlier than 50 and not later than 65 days after the end of the military or state of emergency. The President of the Republic appoints the referendum within three days after the end of the military or state of emergency.”
No federal elections were affected (because no elections had been scheduled).
Neither parliamentary nor presidential elections were scheduled to take place during Covid-19 pandemic.
Not applicable. No elections scheduled during this period.
See Q18
Parliamentary and presidential elections were not held during the COVID-19 emergency. However, in view of the forthcoming parliamentary elections in the spring of 2021, it is possible to envisage measures adapting the electoral legislation to the pandemic situation.
The elections of representatives to the Croatian Parliament were held in July 2020, in accordance with constitutional and legislative time limits. Article 73, paragraph (1) of the Croatian Constitution stipulates that representatives to the Croatian Parliament are elected for a term of four years. Article 74, paragraph (1) of the Constitution stipulates that the elections of representatives to the Croatian Parliament are to be held no later than 60 days from the expiry of the term or the dissolution of the Croatian Parliament. Under Article 78, paragraph (1) of the Constitution, the Croatian Parliament may be dissolved in order to call early elections, if the majority of all representatives votes in favour of this.
No regular parliamentary or presidential elections were scheduled to be held during the COVID-19 emergency. Due to the death of the president of the Czech Senate Jaroslav Kubera on 20 January 2020, by-elections to fill the vacancy in one Senate district (Teplice) was scheduled for 27-28 March (first round) and 3-4 April (second round). By its decision of 15 March 2020 (No. 218, published as No. 88/2020 Coll.), the Government suspended the elections. The decision relied on § 5(c) and § 6(1)(b) of the Crisis Law which allows the Government to temporarily prohibit entry, stay or movement of persons in certain areas or territories.
No such elections were scheduled to take place during the said time.
Not applicable
Section 6 (2) of the Act XII of 2020 on the containment of coronavirus laid down that no by-elections may be called until the day following the end of the period of state of danger; the elections already called shall not be held. The distributed recommendation sheets shall be returned within fifteen days of the entry into force of the Act to the election offices, where they shall be destroyed. The elections not called or not held shall be called within fifteen days of the end of the period of state of danger.
The only elections scheduled during the Covid-19 emergency were those for the upper house of Parliament, Seanad Eireann. For such elections voting is by postal vote and that went ahead without postponement.
No parliamentary election was provided during the Covid-19 emergency. Before the emergency, a constitutional referendum was provided in the Spring of 2020 regarding the reduction of MPs, as well as elections concerning renewal of important regional Councils. These consultations were postponed by the national government to the end of the emergency, and are now likely to take place next September.
In South Korea, an election was held on 15, April 2020 to select members of the National Assembly. The Election Day was held as provided for in Article 34 (1) of Public Official Election Act. Election officials mandated citizens to wear masks on Election Day, and required citizens to secure sufficient distance between one another while casting their ballot. Plastic gloves and hand sanitizers were provided to the citizens. Thanks to the citizens’ active compliance with distancing policies, the election did not cause the spread of COVID-19. The voter participation rate reached 66.2%. This is the highest voter turnout in the National Assembly member elections history in 28 years.
According to Article 23 of the Constitutional Law «On State of Emergency» during a state of emergency, referendums and elections to State bodies are prohibited. Therefore, during a state of emergency, referendums, elections to the President, Members of Parliament and local authorities may not be held. Parliamentary and local elections did not coincide with the state of emergency, so there was no decision by the Central Electoral Commission to postpone the elections (they have taken place in fact in October 2020). However, in view of the fact that the situation regarding the proliferation of coronavirus has not been stabilized, the Central Electoral Commission introduced special rules (it is necessary to have a mask when visiting a polling station, observing social distance and other measures) for conducting parliamentary and local elections.
No elections were held during the period in question, nor were any planned. However, two referenda “HalbeHalbe” (balanced quota of representatives of both genders in political bodies” and “Doppelstaatsbürgerschaft” (Double Citizenship) which had been scheduled for 7 June 2020 were postponed for 30 August 2020.
According to Article 143, in time of war actions, regular elections are not held: if a regular election must be held in time of war actions, either the Seimas or the President of the Republic shall adopt the decision to extend the term of powers of the Seimas, the President of the Republic, or municipal councils; in such a case, elections must be called not later than three months after the end of the war.
No parliamentary/presidential elections were scheduled during the COVID-19 crisis
Not applicable
No, the next elections are scheduled to be held in October 2021.
No elections were held. If there would have been parliamentary elections, there is no legal basis to suspend or prolong them. This is possible for local elections. On 27 May, a government appointed expert commission proposed a new draft election law, which includes a general emergency clause for elections, allowing the parliament, and in exceptional cases the government, to prolong or suspend elections.
Not applicable
The presidential election in Poland was originally scheduled for 10 May (first round) but could not take place due to the coronavirus pandemic. Under Article 228 of the Polish Constitution, extraordinary measures such as a state of natural disaster may be introduced in situations of particular danger. The Act on a state of natural disaster provides that the state of natural disaster may be introduced if massive infections occur. During a period of introduction of extraordinary measures and 90 days thereafter, no elections may be held.
During the period of the state of emergency there has been no elections at national, regional or local level.
Electoral rights are in principle derogable under the Constitution (cf. Article 52 and Article 202 p. 4). However, the Constitution specifies that national deputies and municipal councilors are elected every four years (Articles 102 (1) and 180 (3)).
No elections were scheduled during the Covid-19 emergency. The next elections will be local and regional and will take place in 2022.
No general elections were held or planned during the state of alarm. According to the Art. 116.5 SC the dissolution of the Congress during the state of alarm or other exceptional states is forbidden. Besides, in this moment the President of the Government can not dissolve the Parliament and call for early elections until a year has passed since the last dissolution (Art. 115.3 SC). Since last elections were held on 10 November 2019, it is only possible to call for early elections in September 2020 in order to hold them in November 2020.
Not applicable
At federal level, no parliamentary or presidential elections were scheduled to take place during the Covid-19 crisis. However, a popular vote was scheduled for 17 May 2020, regarding a popular initiative for a partial amendment of the constitution and the change of certain laws. The Federal Council has decided to postpone the popular vote to 27 September 2020.
North Macedonia was in the middle of the electoral process for the parliamentary elections, which were scheduled for the 12th of April 2020. The Assembly was dissolved on the 16th of February 2020. On the 18th of March 2020, the President of the Republic declared a state of emergency. The leaders of relevant political parties conducted a meeting called by the President, where they agreed to postpone the elections, but the legal mechanism to do so was not decided on.
No national elections were planned during this period
Not applicable - no parliamentary or presidential elections were scheduled during the COVID crisis
According to the Resolution of the Central Electoral Commission No. 1983 of 13 December 2019 ("On the appointment of by-elections of the People's Deputy of Ukraine in the single-mandate constituency № 179 (Kharkiv oblast)", the by-elections of the People's Deputy of Ukraine in the single-mandate constituency № 179 (Kharkiv oblast) were scheduled for March 15, 2020.
No parliamentary or presidential elections were due to take place.
General elections for the President of the United States and for the U.S. Congress have not been affected because they are scheduled to take place on Tuesday, November 3, 2020.
Albania
Armenia
Amendment to the Law on Referendum has been adopted by the National Assembly on 03.06.2020 allowing the Parliament to call back a referendum which was not held as a result of martial law or situation of emergency (still not signed by the President of the Republic).
Austria
Azerbaijan
Belgium
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bulgaria
Croatia
(The parliamentary term of the representatives in the previous (ninth) convocation of the Croatian Parliament started on 14 October 2016, when the Parliament was constituted.) Pursuant to Article 78, paragraph (1) of the Constitution, at the sitting of 18 May 2020, the Croatian Parliament adopted the Decision on the Dissolution of the Croatian Parliament (Official Gazette “Narodne novine” No. 58/20), which entered into force on the day of its adoption.
Under Article 98, paragraph (1), subparagraph (1) of the Constitution, the President of the Republic calls elections for the Croatian Parliament, and Article 5, paragraph (4) of the Act on Elections of Representatives to the Croatian Parliament (OG 116/99, 109/00, 53/03, 69/03, 44/06, 19/07, 20/09, 145/10, 24/11, 93/11, 120/11, 19/15, 104/15 and 98/19) stipulates that there is a minimum period of 30 days from the date of entry into force of the decision on calling elections to the election day. The President of the Republic of Croatia adopted the Decision on Calling Elections of the Representatives to the Croatian Parliament (OG 62/20) on 20 May 2020, and it entered into force on 2 June 2020. It was stipulated in the Decision that elections would be held at polling stations in Croatia on Sunday, 5 July 2020, and at polling places in the premises of diplomatic and consular offices of the Republic of Croatia on Saturday, 4 July 2020 and Sunday, 5 July 2020, and the elections took place on the days stipulated.
As soon as the parliamentary elections were called, the State Electoral Commission of the Republic of Croatia (hereinafter: SEC) started communicating with the Croatian Institute for Public Health (hereinafter: CIPH) in order to start preparing recommendations and instructions for holding elections in a safe manner in times of epidemic. In such exceptional circumstances, special account was taken of the following: providing sufficient protective equipment and prescribing sufficient protective measures for electoral bodies; protecting election participants (candidates), volunteers and voters during the process of collecting voters’ signatures and protecting election participants, volunteers, voters and other participants during election gatherings. Moreover, special focus was on securing safe voting on the election day, especially considering the fact that there is no postal voting or internet voting, so the only way for voters to exercise their voting right is at polling station or, in specific situations prescribed by the Act on Elections of Representatives to the Croatian Parliament and the SEC’s Mandatory Instructions, in their homes.
During the preparation of instructions for the election day, special account was taken of the following: providing sufficient protective equipment and prescribing measures for polling station committees and voters that will reduce the risk of infection at polling stations, especially when it comes to polling stations in social welfare institutions and the voting of voters who are in self-isolation or COVID-19 positive.
The CIPH, in cooperation with the SEC, issued three recommendations: Securing epidemiological measures during the election process – Work of electoral bodies; Securing epidemiological measures during the election process – Collection of voters’ signatures of support, and Recommendations for preventing COVID-19 infection during election gatherings.
The SEC, in cooperation with the CIPH, issued two sets of technical instructions: Technical instructions – voting on the election day and securing epidemiological measures to protect all participants at polling stations, and Technical instructions – voting on the election day and securing epidemiological measures to protect all participants at polling stations in social welfare institutions.
It was not necessary to amend electoral legislation in order to issue the above recommendations and technical instructions.
The voter turnout was 46.90%. By comparison, the turnout in 2016 parliamentary elections was 52.90%, and in 2015 parliamentary elections it was 60.82%.
Czech Republic
On 17 April 2020, the Parliament adopted a special law (Law No. 187/2020 Coll.), which, by virtue of § 10 of the Constitutional Law on the Security of the Czech Republic, extended the terms for holding by-elections to the Senate, calling upon the President to call these elections for not later than 30 June. On 6 May 2020, the President by its decision No. 240 called the by-elections for 5-6 June (first round) and 12-13 June (second rounds). The by-elections were effectively held in these new terms. The turnout was 15,79% in the first and 9,26% in the second round, which however is not unusual for the Senate elections.
On 1 April 2020, the original Government decision to suspend the by-elections was considered, and declared null and void, by the Supreme Administrative Court (Pst 19/2019 – 12). The Court concluded that the competence to suspend elections was reserved to the Parliament (§ 10 of the Constitutional Law on the Security of the Czech Republic) and that the right to vote cannot be limited by virtue of provisions relating to other human rights. The Court declared that “although nothing suggest that the Government would not have acted bona fide /…/, it is not possible /…/ to give up fundamental rule established by the constitutional legal act exactly for such exceptional situations that we are facing now. It is necessary to protect not only health, lives and economy, but also the democratic constitutional Rechtsstaat” (§ 13).
Denmark
France
Hungary
Ireland
The arrangements for attendance at the counting centres in early March were changed because of the pandemic to limit the number of persons in attendance and take account of social distancing. The changes were made by administrative decision of the Returning Officer and no changes to law or regulations were required.
For such elections there are two separate electorates. For the six university seats there is an electorate of graduates from two specified universities. Each university is a separate constituency. The turnout at these elections was slightly down from the last election in 2016. For one university it dropped from 27.9 % to 23.3 % and at the other university it dropped from 36.14 % to 34.04 %.
Forty-three seats are filled by an electorate made up of members of the incoming Dail and the outgoing Seanad and all local authority councillors. The turnout was 99% with this electorate at the previous election in 2016. The figures for this election are not yet available but are likely to be similar as it is a postal vote with a narrow political electorate.
Italy
Korea, Republic
The Public Official Election Act has provisions regarding postponing elections. Article 196 (1) is as follows: Article 196 (Postponement of Election)(1) If it is impossible to hold an election or an election has not been held due to a natural disaster or terrestrial upheaval or for other unavoidable reasons, the President shall postpone the election in the case of the presidential election and an election of a National Assembly member, and the chairman of the competent constituency election commission shall do so in consultation with the competent head of the local government (including his/her proxy) in the case of an election of a local council member or head of the local government.
If the spread of COVID-19 was more serious, postponement of the election of the National Assembly member could have been a possible option. If such an attempt has been made, it would be subject to judicial review according to general rules.
Kyrgyzstan
Liechtenstein
Lithuania
No parliamentary or presidential elections were scheduled during the Covid-19 pandemic so far, therefore, no special arrangements or special electoral legislation were adopted.
However, the regular parliamentary elections should take place on 11 October 2020 (as, in accordance with Articles 57 and 84 of the Constitution, it is declared by the decree (No 1K-247) of 9 April 2020 issued by the President of the Republic) and, if necessary, the second round should take place on 25 October 2020.
Some concerns related to health issues during this upcoming election have been expressed, but no legislative action has been taken so far. Special rules and necessary amendments to the Law on Elections to the Seimas are under preparation (for example, in relation to greater space between voting cabins, line regulations in front of voting buildings, a longer period of voting in advance (4 days instead of 2), increase in the number of premises for voting, provision of masks and other health security means for voters, etc.).
Next presidential election is scheduled for 2024.
Mexico
Monaco
Morocco
Norway
Peru
Poland
The authorities wanted to hold elections on 6 April as planned. However, it seemed impossible to hold the elections in the regular manner under current conditions, if only since there is not a sufficient number of volunteers to staff the polling stations and turnout would be very low. The Sejm (lower chamber) therefore adopted, with a narrow majority and after its rejection by the Senate (the upper chamber), on 6 April a law providing that the 2020 presidential elections shall be conducted exclusively by postal voting on 10 May. Nearly immediately afterwards the elections were postponed to 28 June (first round) and 12 July (second round), with both voting at the polling station and postal voting (until then postal voting had not been admitted in Poland).
Portugal
The next electoral event in the electoral calendars are the regional elections in the Autonomous Region of Azores, which have not yet been scheduled, and the election for President of the Republic in January 2021.
Serbia
The parliamentary and local elections were supposed to be held in April but were postponed to 21 June 2020 due to the pandemic. There was no need to amend the electoral legislation. The constitutional basis for postponement of the elections was the proclamation of the state of emergency. Decree on special measures during the state of emergency from 15 March adopted by the Government with the co-signature of the President of the Republic and confirmed by the National Assembly in the article 5 prescribed that "all election activities in the conduct of elections for deputies, deputies of the Assembly of the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina and councilors of assemblies of municipalities and cities, which are scheduled for April 26, 2020, will be interrupted. The competent election commissions are instructed to provide and keep the existing election documentation until the continuation of the conduct of election activities and elections. The conduct of election activities will continue from the day of the cessation of the state of emergency.”
On 16 March the Republic Electoral Commission (RIK) adopted a decision to terminate all electoral activities. The Decision states that new deadlines will be determined from the day of the end of the state of emergency, and that all electoral activities undertaken so far remain in force.
Slovakia
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland
North Macedonia
The President of the Parliament refused to call the Parliament, stating that it was not according to the Constitution. The Constitution is silent on the issue, whether the Parliament, which is dissolved, should be called if the emergency situation is declared.
The only provision is Article 63 paragraph 4, which stipulates that “the term of office of the Representatives to the Assembly can be extended only during states of war or emergency.”
In 2016 the Constitutional Court (see decision No. 104/2016-1) stated that “the mandate of the Representatives of the Assembly cannot be prolonged in the case of dissolution of the Assembly, outside of the conditions determined in the Article 63 Paragraph 4 of the Constitution.” This stand of the Constitutional Court could have been used as a base to call the Parliament, but the President of the Parliament had a different opinion, stating that the dissolved Parliament cannot be reconvened even in an emergency situation.
Because Parliament was not reconvened, the Government adopted the Decree with the force of law on electoral maters (No. 72/2020). The Decree regulates that all electoral activities for parliamentary elections scheduled for the 12th of April 2020 will be stopped. The State Electoral Commission should keep the electoral documentation until the electoral campaign can be resumed. The State Electoral Commission is obliged on the next day of termination of the state of emergency to publish on its web page a revised timetable for the continuation of electoral campaign. The decree prolongs the term of office of the State Electoral Commission for 6 months after the parliamentary elections. The Decree suspends application of the provisions of the Electoral Code during a state of emergency, especially the provisions that prohibit certain activities of the Government during the electoral campaign.
The interruption of the electoral campaign was based on Article 63 Paragraph 3 of the Constitution and Article 128 thereof, which provide prolongation of the terms of office of the public offices elected in direct elections during the state of emergency. It is considered that the Constitution tacitly accepts that elections cannot be held during emergency situations. On the other hand, the Constitution regulates that parliamentary elections should be held in 60 days from the day of dissolution of the Parliament (Art. 63 Para. 3 of the Constitution).
The Constitutional Court decided on the constitutionality of the Decree with the force of law on election matter and found it constitutional.
Tunisia
Turkey
Ukraine
On the scheduled date, the elections took place. In order to prevent the spread of coronavirus infection COVID-19 during the organization and conduct of these elections, the Central Election Commission on March 12, 2020 adopted Resolution № 75 "On measures to prevent the spread of coronavirus infection COVID-19 of the People's Deputy of Ukraine on March 15, 2020 in the single-mandate constituency № 179 ".
On March 15, 2020, the turnout in the by-elections in the single-mandate constituency № 179 almost halved compared to the early elections of people's deputies of Ukraine in 2019 in the same constituency and amounted to only 27.31%.
Electoral legislation was not amended during this period.
United Kingdom
United States of America
During the COVID-19 emergency, 16 states did, however, postpone their primary elections to select candidates for the November 2020 elections. Some of those ballots also included referendums on local questions.
GA: Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger postponed the state’s primary elections from March 24 to May 19, then further delayed them to June 9, as a result of the COVID-19 emergency. As such, the primary elections were postponed for 11 weeks. The legal basis for this postponement was O.C.G.A. §21-2-50.1, which authorizes the Secretary of State to postpone any election in an area for which the governor has declared a state of emergency. This postponement cannot exceed 45 days, hence the need to delay the primary twice. The decision is subject to judicial review. Indeed, there was even a legal challenge by the Coalition for Good Governance non-governmental organization, which sought to push the election back to June 30 in order to protect the health of poll workers, but a federal judge dismissed this as a nonjusticiable “political question.”
Due to COVID-19, Georgia mailed absentee ballot applications to all of the state’s registered voters, although voters could instead choose to vote in person. The state also propagated a rule that made drop-off boxes available for absentee voters to post their ballots. Other arrangements (social distancing, limiting building occupancy, etc.) were made on a county-by-county basis, with the state providing some masks and funding for PPE and other election infrastructure to counties. The election was fraught with problems: some voters waited hours to cast their ballots and there were issues with the new voting machines, prompting state officials to declare investigations before polls had even closed. As a result, voter turnout is currently unclear, but state officials expected comparatively high turnout for a primary election, as more than 1.2 million of the state’s nearly 7 million registered voters voted by absentee (including mail-in) ballot prior to Election Day, a dramatic increase over the 40,000 or fewer that usually do so. Voter turnout for the same election in 2016 stood at approximately 33%.
NE: On May 12, 2020, Nebraska held its in-person primary election as scheduled. To help with a poll worker shortage, 135 members of the National Guard went through poll worker training; Gov. Ricketts also waived a state law requiring that poll workers live in the county where they serve. COVID-19 precautions, made on a county-by-county basis, included supplying poll workers with PPE and regularly cleaning polling places, as well as encouraging voters to wear masks while at the polling station. For the first time ever, early ballot request forms were also mailed to every voter in the state. Statewide, voter turnout stood at 40.5%, up from 26.9% in 2016. This heightened turnout was supported by the dramatic increase in mail-in and early voting, which some sources suggest accounted for 80% of the total this year.
NY: Though some local special elections were canceled, primary elections for state and local office will proceed as planned. A federal judge ruled that the June 23 primary must be held as planned. New York will allow eligible voters to vote via absentee ballot.
WA: The 2020 primary elections in Washington took place as scheduled on March 10. This was 10 days after Gov. Inslee declared a state of emergency for COVID-19 and nearly two weeks before the stay-at-home order was imposed. Since Washington state already votes entirely by mail, no special arrangements needed to be made (although authorities did discourage voters from licking the envelopes of their mail-in ballots). Turnout for the presidential primary was 49.56%, up from 34.78% for the last presidential primary—a significant increase that may be attributable (at least in part) to the fact that the 2020 primary was held two months earlier than the 2016 one and was therefore more competitive.
WI: Wisconsin is an outlier among states in that Wisconsin held its presidential primary voting in person on April 7, 2020, during the height of the COVID-19 outbreak, instead of using absentee methods or postponing the vote. This decision was reached because Wisconsin state courts determined that voting was an essential service. Unfortunately, that decision to maintain in-person elections came at a cost: “More than 50 people who voted in person or worked the polls during Wisconsin's presidential primary this month have tested positive for COVID-19.” A study conducted a month after the elections concluded that “Wisconsin’s controversial decision to hold [...] in-person primaries on April 7 led to a ‘large’ spread of coronavirus.” Due to the increase in COVID-19 cases, the Wisconsin Elections Commission urged the use of absentee voting for the special election for Wisconsin’s 7th Congressional District on May 12, 2020.