GRAĐANSKA KONTROLA IZBORA I ZAŠTITA IZBORNIH PRAVA

Abstract

Citizen control of elections is one of the newer forms of control, and it is most fully realized by the participation of independent observers in all phases of the election procedure. The subject of observation are election activities, political campaigns and election conditions, while the goal is to ensure the transparency of the procedure and maintain the atmosphere of free and fair elections. This form of control arose in response to numerous examples of election manipulation and corruption in connection with elections that threatened to render meaningless the very essence of electoral law. In order to establish citizens' trust in the electoral process, it was necessary to include in it subjects who have no interest in the results of the elections themselves, but are only interested in the legality of the electoral process. In the paper, the author analyzes the impact of civil control of elections on the domain of exercise and protection of electoral rights, as well as possible directions in the development of the observer's position. Through a valid analysis of the existing powers of observers, we make a conclusion about the effectiveness of this form of control, but we also investigate in which ways their current position could be improved.