We suggest the AN should adopt of a Data Protection Law that could guarantee a uniform protection of the citizens’ sensitive data and guarantee the privacy of the political decisions made by the electorate. We also believe that the political forces should agree not to use the current information available through the Programa Maisanta as a tool of pressure on and intimidation of the electorate.

The EU EOM considers that it would be convenient to harmonize with the principles enshrined in the 1999 Constitution. One way to achieve maximum clarity and consistency between the various legal provisions may be to centralize all the crucial election-related legislation in one comprehensive code, through the adoption of a new Basic Law that replaces the LOSPP. The new Basic Law should also take stock of the recent technical development in electronic voting. The prohibition of public funding to parties during the electoral campaign should be reconsidered along the lines of the constitutional provisions that allow already the possibility to provide funding to specific parties’ activities such as programs and projects.

The CNE should consider the undertaking of an independent audit of the REP, possibly in conjunction with the ID Card Program of the ONIDEX and the Civil Registry. Consideration should be given to a complete overhaul of the Civil Registry and make the voter registration an automatic derivation of the Civil Registry.

The CNE should be stricter in enforcing polling procedures, especially related to the prohibition to campaign. Clearer regulations on polling station opening and closing procedures should also be passed. In addition, stronger focus should be placed by the CNE on improving the training of polling station officials, as well as clarity should be brought in defining the role of the electoral coordinators at all levels (regional, local and polling centers).

The CNE should invest more financial and technical resources in the organization of its audit activities. Audit session should start considerably earlier in the process, with procedures elaborated and published well in advance to the commencement of such activities. Consideration should be given by the CNE to the establishment of two types of audits: public audits, starting two months before the elections, to be opened to all stakeholders, and full system audits, of the duration of various months, to be conducted by institutions with appropriate expertise and established reputation. The full system audits should accompany the entire system development process.

The CNE should give immediate priority to the development of in-depth civic education programs targeting the entire voting population on the general functioning of the VMs. These programs should be integrated with specific voter information campaigns in the pre-electoral periods.

The technological investments and related developments introduced by the CNE in the electoral process should be made more immediately perceivable and exploitable as a quality service for all stakeholders. For example, the level of IT applications used in the Parliamentary Elections would allow for an immediate amelioration of the results aggregation process and their faster publication, even online.

Specific mechanisms to distribute free time and space on the media in an equitable manner among the main electoral contenders, which is not excessively onerous for the media companies, should be put in place.