State-controlled media should be required to provide accurate, impartial coverage of political parties and figures

Pursue investigations and, where appropriate, prosecutions or administrative sanctions where government resources may have been used for partisan political purposes

Enact governmental transparency measures to ensure the integrity of public institutions

Amend the constitution, setting a specific date or window for elections

Remove exceptions for the president and vice president in the Code of Conduct and the Public Order Act; empower local magistrates to review decisions taken by the police

Establish legal regulations on the allocation of media time and the purchase of campaign ads

Ensure all citizens receive a national registration card and/or other forms allowable to qualify for a voter registration card and implement procedures for continuous and mobile voter registration

Provide a clear legal mandate and resources to provide for voter education

Require that the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) produce a document, well in advance of elections, specifying all procedures associated with the counting, tabulation, release of results, and the verification process

Remove security fees for election petitions, allow petitions to be lodged during the electoral process, require timely interventions; documents relating to cases should be publicly available

Review enforcement bodies, including the ECZ, police, and Office of the Director of Public Prosecution, evaluating their mandates, capacity to address corruption, and adherence to the Code

Consider steps to increase the independence of government sponsored media; empower local magistrates to reprimand violators and corrective measures should be taken immediately

Develop strong, efficient electoral laws and policies

Develop an adequate and comprehensive voters list

Develop an effective electoral complaints mechanism, understood by and accessible to the public

Strengthen party structures to reach from the national to the village level

Local civil society groups should continue to strengthen their capacity to monitor and report on political developments, including election processes, and work to improve networking and collaboration between such groups

Increase emphasis on voter education and use of ID cards to speed the voting process

The EU EOM recommends that the electoral authorities of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela continue to develop the process of dialog with political parties and civil society organisations in order to increase the level of trust in future election processes. The high turnout registered in the Presidential Elections, the generally peaceful atmosphere in which they were held, and the general acceptance of the election results by political parties, are powerful arguments in favour of this necessary dialog.

The laws that govern election processes contain inconsistencies and vacuums that could be solved through the approval, by the National Assembly of a General Basic Law, or with a new General Electoral Regulation adopted by the CNE. These texts should establish clearly and definitively all the key aspects of election processes in accordance with the 1999 Constitution, and international principles and good practices. In this manner, the CNE would be exempted from having to publish such a large number of regulations for all election processes, at times at very advanced stages of the process. The EU EOM had already detected this failing in 2005, which the Basic Law of Suffrage and Political Parties of 1998 contemplated solving with the approval of a General Electoral Regulation. Whatever the chosen formula, be it an Organic Law or a General Regulation, it would be important that it be adopted in consensus with the largest possible number of the country’s political forces, regardless of whether they are represented in the National Assembly, or not.

The New Basic Law or the new General Electoral Regulation could contribute to put an end to the controversy around certain procedures of the electoral administration, especially giving a legal foundation to the role of election coordinators, and of components of the Plan República in election processes. Although in the Presidential Elections both figures limited themselves, in general, to the fulfilment of their basically logistical and security functions in a professional, effective, and neutral manner, with some minor exceptions. Despite the fact that their role in the process was clarified through CNE public declarations destined to this end; their participation in the election process is still viewed with mistrust by some parties and citizens.

If the use of indelible ink is to be continued as one of the mechanisms to prevent double voting, it is recommended that the ink that is used be less easily erased, than that which was used for the 2006 Presidential Elections

Better training for Polling Station members, voting machine operators, and support technicians, together with a more precise definition of the procedures for voting centres and Polling Stations could avoid uncertainties or contradictions in the performance of their tasks. This improvement would directly reduce the reaction time in case of contingencies, and bring about greater efficiency in the processes carried out in Polling Stations, such as the setup, polling, transmission, or audit of closing.

On the basis of the positive results of the audits performed during the 2006 Presidential Elections, and taking advantage of the degree of expertise acquired by the technical experts of the different candidates and national election observation groups, it would be a positive step for the CNE to systematically maintain programmes for quality management with external technical experts, both for the REP as well as for the electronic voting system. This would increase the level of trust of the political parties, the media, and the public in general in the system.

The suspension of institutional publicity be it at a national, state, or local level and a clear limitation on the public activities of all public servants and elected positions during the election campaign period would put an end to the risk of institutional bias, and the use of state resources in benefit of some candidates. Both the Basic Law of Suffrage and Political Parties24, and international good practices, contemplate such limitations. Furthermore, the CNE, and then Venezuelan Public Ministry should make use of the sanctioning instruments they have at their disposal to combat violations, which can also be denounced by any citizen or the legal representatives of the political parties.