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Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights

DENMARK

EARLY GENERAL ELECTIONS

1 November 2022

ODIHR Election Expert Team

Final Report

Warsaw

13 April 2023

B 28 - 2022-23 (2. samling) - Bilag 3: Henvendelse af 19/4-23 fra Transparency International Danmark om rapport fra valgobservatører fra OSCE i forbindelse med folketingsvalget 2022 med analyse af danske partistøtteregler

TABLE OF CONTENTS

II.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ...................................................................................................... 1

INTRODUCTION AND ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ............................................................. 3

III. BACKGROUND AND POLITICAL CONTEXT ................................................................. 3

IV.

LEGAL FRAMEWORK AND ELECTORAL SYSTEM .................................................... 4

PARTY AND CANDIDATE REGISTRATION ................................................................... 6

VI. ELECTION CAMPAIGN AND CAMPAIGN ENVIRONMENT ....................................... 9

VII. POLITICAL PARTY AND CAMPAIGN FINANCE ......................................................... 11

UNDING

OURCES

............................................................................................................................. 11

XPENDITURES

................................................................................................................................... 13

EPORTING AND

ISCLOSURE

............................................................................................................ 14

VERSIGHT

......................................................................................................................................... 15

VIII. ELECTION OBSERVATION............................................................................................... 16

IX.

RECOMMENDATIONS ....................................................................................................... 17

ANNEX: FINAL RESULTS ........................................................................................................... 19

ABOUT ODIHR ............................................................................................................................... 20

DENMARK

EARLY GENERAL ELECTIONS

1 November 2022

ODIHR Election Expert Team Final Report

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Following an invitation by the Danish authorities and based on the findings and conclusions of the

Needs Assessment Mission, the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights

(ODIHR) deployed an Election Expert Team (EET) for the 1 November early general elections. The

ODIHR EET assessed the electoral system, candidate registration, the electoral campaign and

campaign financing.

The recent changes to the Parliamentary Election Act (PEA) include measures to prohibit the

promising or providing of financial advantages for influencing voters to sign in support of a party or

an individual candidate. No changes to the political party and campaign financing legislation have

been introduced since the last elections in 2019, and several recommendations by the Council of

Europe’s Group of States against Corruption (GRECO) related to transparency, oversight and

accountability of campaign financing are yet to be implemented. Despite limited regulation of

political financing, election dispute resolution and media coverage of elections, the electoral legal

framework is conducive to holding democratic elections.

The 179 MPs are elected for four years through a proportional representation system. The distribution

of mandates favours the less populated constituencies, requiring more votes per mandate in densely

populated constituencies, at odds with the principle of equality of the vote. However, most political

parties consider the system fair as it ensures country-wide representation as a result of other elements

of the electoral system, including the compensatory seats that offset the inequality of votes. When

submitting lists of candidates, parties can choose different options on candidate ordering on the ballot

and determine how the votes translate into election results. These rules and the different arrangements

by political parties appear overly complex and challenge voters' ability to understand how their votes

are translated into MP seats, a concern raised by some ODIHR EET interlocutors.

While seventy members of parliament (MPs) of the outgoing parliament were women (39 per cent),

they were underrepresented in the government, holding 6 out of 20 ministerial positions, including

the prime minister. Of the political parties in these elections, 8 out of 14 were led by women.

Eligible voters can stand as candidates nominated by political parties or as independent candidates.

Citizens under guardianship who have been fully deprived of their legal capacity are disenfranchised

and, therefore also ineligible to stand, at odds with the international standards that protect the political

rights of persons with disabilities. Parliamentary political parties are eligible to nominate candidates

directly, while new and non-parliamentary parties must collect 20,182 support signatures. Contrary

to international good practice, voters can support only one party and one independent candidate. One

thousand fourteen candidates were registered to stand in the early general elections, and the candidate

registration process was generally inclusive. All ODIHR EET interlocutors expressed their trust in

the party registration and signature collection processes.

The election campaign is regulated by the PEA, other laws and the bylaws of the Ministry of Interior

and Health that relate mostly to electoral and organizational procedures and party and campaign

finance, the Ministry of Justice regulating election campaigning, and the Ministry of Culture related

to political advertising in the media. The media coverage of the campaign is largely unregulated and

The English version of this report is the only official document. An unofficial translation is available in Danish.

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ODIHR Election Expert Team Final Report

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left to the internal policies of the media outlets, with a ban on political advertisements on television

from the time elections are announced until after election day. The campaign was competitive and

pluralistic. Political contestants could convey their messages to the electorate in diverse manners, and

freedom of expression, assembly and association were respected.

The tone of the campaign was considered mostly calm and fair, with some interlocutors attributing

this to a lesser debate about immigration than in many previous elections. Social media featured

strongly in the campaign, with parties creating and sharing content on various platforms. Many noted

that the tone on social networks was generally harsher than in the traditional media, including negative

messages targeting women.

None of the political parties met with by the ODIHR EET has any internal procedures or efforts to

support the candidatures of persons with disabilities. While access for persons with physical

disabilities to campaign venues and polling stations improved over the years, access to campaign

information is insufficient, with few campaign programmes available in audio format or other

accessible formats. The lack of easy-to-read materials regarding the campaign and election

procedures was not conducive to the full participation of voters with intellectual disabilities.

The law does not limit amounts of income or expenditure by political parties or election campaigns,

which is at odds with international good practice. Several ODIHR EET interlocutors claimed that

there are numerous instances in which political parties receive large donations, especially from

companies, associations and unions, which may lead to undue political influence. The law does not

ban foreign donations. Anonymous donations below the threshold of DKK 22,200 are permitted.

Furthermore, there is no limit on the number or total amount of anonymous donations, and the

individual amounts received do not need to be disclosed, making such donations nontransparent,

contrary to international good practice. Several EET interlocutors described the use of mechanisms

to circumvent the disclosure of identities of large donors by donating to different organizations or

numerous candidates, through several companies owned by the same owner, or by donating indirectly

through various associations.

The law requires that campaign expenditures are included in mandatory annual reports submitted by

the political parties but does not require to indicate the expenditure for the election campaign

separately from the general party expenditure. The lack of differentiation of expenses leaves election

stakeholders and the media without the possibility of understanding the extent of expenditure made

by political parties and independent candidates. Campaigning by third parties is underregulated.

Companies or unions who traditionally support the major political parties may incur indirect expenses

related to the election campaign without any requirements to declare them as donations or

expenditures, which reduces the transparency of political financing.

The reporting system does not clearly present the income and expenditure of parties and candidates,

and there are no requirements for contestants to publish financial reports related to the campaign in

the interim or after the elections, which reduces transparency and challenges international good

practice. The annual political party reports must be submitted to the parliament by the end of the

following year, which may lead to a very long period before the information about incurred income

and expenditure is presented to the public. The Parliament is not obligated to verify or approve the

annual reports. No reporting requirements exist for the parties’ regional or local organizations that

did not receive public subsidies. The regulations do not impose detailed and itemized reporting

requirements, and no template is provided to ensure consistency and provide guidance, which reduces

transparency. No dedicated institutions perform political party or campaign finance oversight,

contrary to international good practice.

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The MoIH, which coordinates the elections at the national level and issues regulations to supplement

the law, received and processed 26 complaints and forwarded them to the parliament after election

day, as prescribed by law. On 16 November, the parliament unanimously decided that none of the

complaints impacted election results. While election stakeholders generally considered this process a

sufficient dispute resolution mechanism and expressed confidence that municipal election authorities

will effectively address any procedural issues that arise during the election period, preempting the

need for complaints, there is no possibility of judicial review of administrative decisions before

election day, at odds with OSCE commitments.

The PEA does not provide for citizen or international observation and no accreditation procedures,

which is inconsistent with the OSCE commitments. The law establishes that the voting and counting

procedures are open to the general public. The ODIHR EET was well received and encountered no

hindrances in its observation.

II.

INTRODUCTION AND ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Following an invitation by the authorities of Denmark and based on the conclusions and findings of

a Needs Assessment Mission (NAM) conducted between 12 and 14 October, the OSCE Office for

Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) deployed an Election Expert Team (EET) to

observe the 1 November 2022 early general elections. The ODIHR EET consisted of two experts

drawn from two OSCE participating States.

The ODIHR EET assessed the party and candidate registration, the campaign environment and the

party and campaign finance. Specific areas under review were assessed for their compliance with

OSCE commitments and other international obligations and standards for democratic elections, as

well as with national legislation. In line with the ODIHR methodology, the EET did not systematically

observe the election-day procedures but visited a limited number of polling stations. The October

2022 ODIHR NAM report provides additional details and context for this report.

The ODIHR EET wishes to thank the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of the Interior and

Health (MoIH) and the representatives of political parties, the media, civil society and other

interlocutors for their cooperation and assistance.

III.

BACKGROUND AND POLITICAL CONTEXT

The Kingdom of Denmark is a constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary system of government.

The

Folketing

(parliament) is a unicameral body comprising 179 deputies from the three constituent

Countries of the Kingdom, including 175 elected from Denmark and two each from the Faroe Islands

and Greenland.

The 5 June 2019 general elections resulted in ten parties and alliances winning the 175 MP seats

elected in Denmark.

The Social Democratic Party (Socialdemokratiet; S) gained the largest number

of seats, forming a minority government with the parliamentary support of the Social Liberal Party

See the October 2022

ODIHR NAM report.

ODIHR has not previously observed elections in Denmark, although

it deployed a NAM before the 2011, 2015 and 2019 general elections and also visited the country in the context of

the assessment of the 2009 European Parliament elections.

In addition, two representatives for the Faroe Islands, were elected from the Social Democratic Party

(Javnaðarflokkurin) and the Union Party (Sambandsflokkurin) and two for Greenland, from the Forward Party

(Siumut) and Community of the People (Inuit Ataqatigiit).

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(Radikale

Venstre;

RV), Socialist People’s Party (Socialistisk

Folkeparti;

SF) and Red-Green

Alliance (Enhedslisten –

De Rød-Grønne; EL).

The opposition parties included the Liberal Party

(Venstre; V), Danish People’s Party (Dansk Folkeparti; DF), Conservative People’s Party (Det

Konservative Folkeparti;

KF), Alternative (Alternativet; ALT), New Right (Nye

Borgerlige;

NB) and

Liberal Alliance (Liberal

Alliance;

LA).

Following the 2019 elections, due to party rifts and other political reconsolidations, 22 MPs joined

another party, established new parties or became unaffiliated. The political fragmentation resulted in

two new parties splintering from the Liberal party: the Moderates (Moderaterne) and Denmark

Democrats (Danmarksdemokraterne

- Inger Støjberg).

In July 2022, following a protracted political crisis, the Social Liberal Party gave an ultimatum to the

Prime Minister to call early elections or face a withdrawal of the party’s support in the government

and a vote of no confidence.

On 5 October, in line with her constitutional powers, the Prime Minister

called early general elections for 1 November, stating that it was time to test “new forms of the

government”.

The outgoing parliament included seventy women (39 per cent). However, women were

underrepresented in the government, holding 6 out of 20 ministerial positions, including the prime

minister. Of the political parties in these elections, 8 out of 14 were led by women. Denmark is ranked

high on gender equality according to the assessment of international organizations.

IV.

LEGAL FRAMEWORK AND ELECTORAL SYSTEM

The 1953 Constitution, the 2022 Parliamentary Election Act (PEA), and the 2014 Media Liability

Act (last amended in 2018) regulate the parliamentary elections. The financing of the election

campaign and political parties is regulated by the 2017 Grants to Political Parties Act (GPPA) and

the 2019 Private Contributions to Political Parties and Publication of Political Parties Accounts Act

(AAPP).

The legislation is supplemented by orders, detailed guidelines, and instructions issued by

the MoIH, including the 2020 Guidance on Certain Party Funding Issues and the 2022 Guidance on

Holding General Elections. The MoIH informed the ODIHR EET that the guidelines are not legally

binding but that their content is considered binding by election stakeholders as they provide

interpretations of the law.

While no changes to the political party and campaign financing legislation

have been introduced since the last general elections in 2019, the 2020 Guidance provides additional

procedural explanations which bring clarity to the process.

Several recommendations by the Council

The crisis stemmed mainly from an official inquiry and criticism of the PM and her cabinet on the legality of a

decision to order the culling of millions of minks as a measure to fight the further spread of COVID-19.

Elections on the Faroe Island were held on 31 October due to the official Day of Remembrance on 1 November.

the European Institute for Gender Equality’s Index

Denmark ranks second.

Further regulations regarding the election campaign are comprised within the 2014 Official Roads Act (last

amended in 2022) and the 2015 Private Roads Act (last amended in 2022) on placing of posters and the 2020 Act

on Radio and Television Operations. The MoIH republishes the legislation by executive orders, including the

amendments approved in the Parliament, in order to provide a consolidated source of all election related legislation.

Although the content of the guidelines could be contested by political parties or contestants, according to the MoIH,

this has never happened. If the guidelines are not followed, the MoIH cannot apply any sanctions.

The guidance incorporates recommendations made by GRECO, the Party Support Committee tasked to review the

legislation, and the conclusions of political negotiation between major parties. The guidelines refer mostly to

donations, in-kind donations, subsidies and auditing requirements.

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of Europe’s Group of States against Corruption (GRECO) are yet to be implemented.

The electoral

process for the Faroe Islands and Greenland is administered under a different legal framework.

The 2021 amendments to the PEA include those related to procedures to change the name of a party,

new measures to suspend the registration of a party in case of potential fraud and to prohibit promising

or providing financial advantages to anyone to influence voters signing in support of a party or an

individual candidate. Despite limited regulation of political financing, election dispute resolution and

media coverage of elections, the legislative framework is sufficient for the conduct of democratic

elections. Many ODIHR EET interlocutors noted the need to strengthen the current campaign and

political party finance legislation. On the other hand, most of them also described a reluctance of the

main political parties to support considerable reform in this field.

The MoIH receives complaints, which must be submitted within a week after election day. The MoIH

processes the complaints and sends them to the provisional election committee in the parliament. The

election stakeholders generally considered this remedy to be sufficient and expressed confidence that

municipal election authorities will effectively address most procedural issues that arise during the

election period, preempting the need for a formal dispute resolution mechanism. However, there is

no possibility of appealing administrative decisions before election day, which limits access to an

effective remedy and challenges OSCE commitments.

Furthermore, the process in which a

parliamentary commission decides on the complaints related to the parliamentary elections may lead

to a conflict of interest and is at odds with international good practice.

The MoIH informed the

ODIHR EET that 26 complaints were received for these elections and forwarded them together with

the ministry’s opinion for consideration by the provisional election committee.

On 16 November,

the parliament unanimously adopted the committee’s report, which found that the complaints did not

impact election results.

The law should provide effective and timely remedies to electoral grievances throughout the entire

process, including those related to candidate registration and the election campaign. In line with

international good practice, judicial review of election complaints in the last instance should be

introduced.

The 179 MPs are elected for four years through proportional representation. For election purposes,

Denmark is divided into Metropolitan Copenhagen, Sealand-Southern Denmark, and Northern and

Central Jutland. Further, it is divided into ten multi-member constituencies (MMCs) and 92

GRECO’s June 2022

Second Addendum to the Second Compliance Report on Denmark

remarked that ”GRECO

remains concerned by the lack of progress in response to a number of other recommendations aimed at enhancing

the overall transparency of political financing in Denmark, in particular, to introduce a ban on anonymous

donations to individual election candidates, to require more transparency as to the value of certain donations and

to improve the supervision of political financing (which goes beyond the pure auditing of their accounts).”

Paragraph 5.10 of the 1990 OSCE Copenhagen Document entitles everyone to “have an effective means of redress

against administrative decisions so as to guarantee respect for fundamental rights and ensure legal integrity”.

Article 13 of the European Convention on Human Rights provides everyone (i.e., all citizens) with the right to

effective remedy.

See Guideline 94 of the 2021

Compilation of Venice Commission Opinions and Reports Concerning Election

Dispute Resolution,

which states that “Appeal to parliament, as the judge of its own election, is sometimes provided

for but could result in political decisions. It is acceptable as a first instance in places where it is long established,

but a judicial appeal should then be possible.” See also the 2020 ECtHR judgement on

Mugemangango v. Belgium

in which the Court concluded that, in relation to submitting an appeal in elections of Parliament of the Walloon

Region in Belgium to the Walloon Parliament itself, “the procedure for complaints to the Walloon Parliament did

not provide adequate and sufficient safeguards ensuring the effective examination of the applicant’s grievances”.

The complaints were related to issues with order of candidates listed on some ballot papers, and errors, omissions

and comments introduced in the election books at the polling stations.

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nomination districts, which consist of one or more municipalities.

One hundred thirty-five seats are

distributed in constituencies to parties and independent candidates according to the d’Hondt method,

while the rest are compensatory seats distributed proportionally if parties fulfil at least one of three

conditions.

Some ODIHR EET interlocutors noted that the low threshold leads to a fragmented but

pluralistic parliament.

The distribution of mandates in regions and MMCs is reviewed every five years by the MoIH (last

time in 2020) and, in line with the Constitution, considers the population and the population density.

The distribution of mandates favours the less populated constituencies while requiring more votes for

a mandate in densely populated constituencies such as Copenhagen, at odds with the principle of the

vote equality.

However, most political parties met by the ODIHR EET found the system fair and

consider it to ensure country-wide representation, considering other elements of the electoral system,

including the compensatory seats that offset the inequality of votes. Nevertheless, the mandate

distribution system may disproportionally affect the smaller political parties.

To ensure the equality of votes, the election authorities should review the rules regarding mandate

distribution.

While the names of the standing candidates are the same at the MMC level, their order on the ballot

can be different in different nomination districts within an MMC.

Voters can vote for the party list,

or for a candidate or both. When submitting lists of candidates, parties can choose different options

to determine how the votes translate into election results.

These rules and the different arrangements

by political parties appear overly complex and challenge voters' ability to understand how their votes

are translated into MP seats, a concern raised by some ODIHR EET interlocutors.

Consideration could be given to ensure uniformity in the presentation of candidates on the ballot. In

the absence of any changes, further voter education on the ballot composition and different

approaches of the political parties should be considered.

PARTY AND CANDIDATE REGISTRATION

Eligible voters can stand as candidates nominated by political parties or stand as independent

candidates. In line with the Constitution, citizens under guardianship who have been fully deprived

The MMCs consist of 2 to 13 nomination districts.

These are obtaining two per cent of the valid votes at the national level, winning a seat in one of the constituencies,

or obtaining in two of three regions a sum of votes sufficient to win a seat (without taking into consideration the

compensatory seats).

For example, some ODIHR EET interlocutors suggested that, in Copenhagen, a mandate requires approx. 25,000

votes, while in Jutland it requires 18,000 votes (28 per cent less). Paragraph 2.2.iv of the 2002

Venice Commission

Code of Good Practice in Electoral Matters

states that “The permissible departure from the norm should not be

more than 10%, and should certainly not exceed 15% except in special circumstances (protection of a concentrated

minority, sparsely populated administrative entity).”

For early voting, only alphabetical lists are used, as voters can cast ballots in any constituency and the full list of

arrangements cannot be reproduced.

Namely, parties can choose to nominate a candidate as ‘standing in the district,’ in which case, a leading candidate’s

name is placed first in party list, and all votes cast for that party without a specific candidate chosen are attributed

to this candidate during the seat allocation process. Alternatively, all candidates on the party list can stand ‘in

parallel’, which means that their names listed in some pre-determined or alphabetical order, whereas the party

votes are distributed among them in proportion to the personal votes they received. For these elections, 12 out of

14 parties chose a ‘parallel’ arrangement.

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of their legal capacity are disenfranchised and, therefore also ineligible to stand.

This provision is

at odds with the international standards that protect the political rights of persons with disabilities,

including those with intellectual and psychosocial disabilities.

Constitutionally imposed restrictions on the right to vote and to stand as candidates based on

psychosocial or intellectual disabilities should be reviewed in line with international standards.

Parliamentary political parties are eligible to nominate candidates directly, while new and non-

parliamentary parties must first apply to the MoIH. Before applying, parties must have their name

approved and registered by the Electoral Board, a body set up for this purpose.

The MoIH published

the list of parties wishing to participate in elections by the deadline of 17 October.

To run, the non-parliamentary political parties are required to have a minimum of 20,182 voter

declarations of support collected electronically or on paper forms. Voters register a provisional

declaration of support for a party and have to wait seven days before being able to confirm their

choice.

Independent candidates are required to submit between 150 and 200 declarations. An

amendment of 2021 to the PEA forbids influencing the signature-gathering process and imposes

sanctions in case of violations of this provision, while in case of suspected violations, the collection

for a particular party can be suspended pending an investigation.

According to all interlocutors met

by the ODIHR EET, the electronic collection of signatures speeds up the process and ensures proper

verification mechanisms. Contrary to international good practice, voters can support only one party

or independent candidate.

All ODIHR EET interlocutors expressed their trust in the party

registration and signature collection processes.

In 2021, in

Strøbye and Rosenlind v. Denmark,

the European Court of the Human Rights found that, in the absence

of international or European concensus on the matter, the disenfranchisement on the basis of full deprivation of

legal capacity based on individualized assessment is not discriminatory or in violation of Article 3 of Protocol 1 of

the European Convention of Human Rights, which provides for “conditions which will ensure the free expression

of the opinion of the people in the choice of the legislature.”

Article 29 of

Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD)

requires states to guarantee to persons

with disabilities political rights, including rights “to vote and be elected” and does not provide for any reasonable

exclusion from these rights. Article 12 of the CRPD further requires equal recognition before the law. See also

paragraph 9.4 of the 2013 CRPD Committee’s

Communication No. 4/2011

which, in a similar case, states that “an

exclusion of the right to vote on the basis of a perceived or actual psychosocial or intellectual disability, including

a restriction pursuant to an individualized assessment, constitutes discrimination on the basis of disability”.

The Electoral Board comprises four members, and is headed by the Supreme Court or a county court judge. The

Board approves a party designation (name) for three years and, if the party does not collect a sufficient number of

voter support declarations in this period to stand for elections, the name of the party is deleted. In the last three

years, the Electoral Board had

approved

230 names of parties.

On 5 October, the MoIH

published

a provisional list which remained unchanged.

Voter declarations are valid for 18 months from the date of their registration. Parties cannot revoke their registration

after approval, but may decide not to contest the elections.

The bill was initiated in 2020 after one party indicated that a cash sum would be available to those who submitted

declarations for the party. Newly-introduced article 11c. states that no one may give, promise or offer financial

advantages to influence someone to submit, to fail to submit, to withdraw or to fail to withdraw a statement of

support or a voter declaration. Violations can be punished with a fine or imprisonment of up to four months, while

the parties seeking eligibility to stand may not be allowed to continue the signature gathering. According to the

MoIH, no investigation related to voter support declarations was initiated following the legal amendments that

banned any form of financial inducements to providing voter support.

Paragraph 3 of the

1990 OSCE Copenhagen Documents

states that the OSCE participating States “recognize the

importance of pluralism with regard to political organizations.” Paragraph 77 of the 2010

ODIHR and Venice

Commission Guidelines on Political Party Regulation,

states that it “in order to enhance pluralism and freedom of

association, legislation should not limit a citizen to signing a supporting list for only one party”.

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To fully support political pluralism and freedom of association in line with international good

practice, the election authorities should consider the possibility of voters signing in support of more

than one political party and one independent candidate.

Fourteen parties submitted lists of candidates. Candidates can be nominated in one or more

nomination constituencies within an MMC. The nominations were submitted to the National Social

Appeals Board (NSAB), an agency under the Ministry of Social Affairs, Housing and Senior

Citizens.

Parties had to confirm the candidates for each constituency by 22 October, and the final

lists were emailed to the municipal administrations, and to the MoIH.

By law, candidates are

notified of any inconsistencies and have 12 hours to correct errors. Most political parties met by

ODIHR EET decided on specific candidacies within their regional organizations, mostly well in

advance of elections.

The candidate registration process was inclusive. One thousand fourteen candidates were registered

to stand in the early general elections, an increase from 900 candidates in the 2019 elections. Sixteen

independent candidates were registered, two were rejected due to insufficient signatures, and one

withdrew; no candidates listed by political parties were rejected. Some ODIHR EET interlocutors

noted that the electronic candidate registration and management system should be updated to ensure

it is fully secure and accurate.

The law does not impose any gender quota requirements for candidate lists. Some parties informed

the ODIHR EET that they made efforts to have an equal number of men and women candidates.

Women represented some 38 per cent of all candidates; out of these, 79 women were elected as MPs,

or 44 per cent, the highest percentage yet in general elections in Denmark.

On the party level, the

percentage varied from 26 per cent to 50 per cent of candidates. Of all candidates, 24 per cent were

under the age of 35. Out of the total number of candidates, according to official data, 957 are registered

as Danish, 31 are descendants of immigrants, and 26 are citizens who immigrated to Denmark.

The parliament decides on the validity of the elections. Elected candidates are examined by a

Provisional Scrutineers Committee of the Parliament, and to be validated, candidates must not have

been convicted for an act that makes the candidate “unworthy” to be an MP. There is no detailed

definition of unworthiness and no clear deadlines for how long after the conviction should a candidate

be considered ‘unworthy’.

Authorities could consider removing all ineligibility criteria based on prior convictions. If any such

criteria remain in force, they should be precisely defined.

The NSAB is mandated to receive all candidate lists proposed by parties for all nomination constituencies, establish

the eligibility of candidates by verifying the accuracy of their data and approve all candidate lists and independent

candidates. The NSAB also verifies the signatures for the support of independent candidates, which are provided

only on paper and entered manually in the electronic system.

After the publication of candidate lists, access can the provided to the submitted documents and the party

notification of the supported candidates. For these elections the final lists were submitted on 24 October.

After the registration process was finished, two political parties filed a joint complaint to the MoIH regarding the

Nyborg constituency ballots, where the party lists on the ballots were by mistake printed alphabetically rather than

in the order prescribed by the parties. While a rerun was not ordered by the parliament, a

reprimand

was issued by

the MoIH and by the temporary parliamentary committee to the election commission to ensure that greater care

should be taken in the future so that this is not repeated.

According to

research

conducted by the Danish Human Rights Institute from 2019, a third of political parties had

a gender equality strategy in place.

See the Statistics Denmark

webpage

for more information.

Statistics Denmark provided

information on ethnicity of candidates

(in Danish).

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VI.

ELECTION CAMPAIGN AND CAMPAIGN ENVIRONMENT

The election campaign is regulated by the PEA, other laws and MoIH bylaws that relate mostly to

the requirements on the format and posting of outdoor campaign posters and the prohibition of paid

political advertising on television.

Television may not broadcast advertisements for employers’

organisations, trade unions, religious movements, political parties, political movements and elected

members or nominated candidates for political assemblies. Political advertisements are banned on

television from the time elections are announced until after election day.

There is no campaign

silence period, and campaigning is allowed on election day except inside the polling station and the

immediate surroundings.

Most parties used standard-size posters and, in addition, larger billboards, digital billboards and

adverts on screens, including in public transportation.

Very few campaign rallies were held as the

parties stated these are an expensive way of addressing the electorate, which already supports them.

Instead, many candidates and parties toured around the country to meet voters.

The campaign was competitive and pluralistic. Political contestants could convey their messages to

the electorate in diverse manners, and freedom of expression, assembly and association were

respected. No interlocutor expressed concerns about the relatively short election campaign period,

which for these elections, started on 5 October and lasted for 27 days, including the election day.

Most interlocutors stated they were not concerned about the length of the campaign because it had

been evident that elections would be called by the opening of the Parliament in early October and

election stakeholders had begun preparations in advance.

The media environment is open and diverse, enabling a vibrant political atmosphere and providing

numerous sources of information.

The media played a prominent role in the campaign, with regular

TV debates between party leaders and other candidates on the public broadcaster

Danmarsks Radio

DR and the private TV2, and the newspapers, news websites and radio channels provided extensive

coverage of issues and candidates.

The media coverage of the campaign is largely unregulated and left to the internal policies of the

media outlets. There are no legal requirements for equal or equitable media coverage; however, the

ODIHR EET did not note any concerns regarding access to media or the coverage of contestants,

seeing it as comprehensive and meaningful. Media outlets that ODIHR EET met with did not raise

concerns about their ability to cover the campaign, but some raised the issue of access to information,

stating that the Freedom of Information Act (FoIA) allows institutions to withhold information of

public interest and interpret the law restrictively and that the deadlines for responding to FoIA

enquiries by the government were often violated. No qualitative or quantitative media monitoring is

undertaken by public institutions, but fact-checking is a regular feature, including during the

campaign and related to the campaign messages.

Including the 2014 Official Roads Act, the 2015 Private Road Act, the 2011 Act on Radio and Television

Operations, and the MoIH regulation including the 2020 Notice on Advertising and Sponsorship in Broadcast

Media, the 1989 Notice on Election Campaigning and the 2022 Guidance on Holding General Elections.

If the date of elections is announced more than three months before being held, the advertising-free period does

not begin until 3 months before the holding of the election.

The MoIH guidance states that the interviews with politicians in polling stations may be characterized as

campaigning, although it is up to polling station officials to determine whether they can be conducted.

Posters of a maximum size of 0.8 square meters may be displayed without seeking prior permission starting from

8 October until eight days after the elections.

Denmark ranks second on the 2022 Reporters Without Borders

media freedom list.

In addition to media fact-checking, independent fact-checking is run by

www.tjekdet.dk

which is a part of

Facebook‘s International Fact-Checking Network.

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Social media featured strongly in the campaign, with parties creating and sharing content on various

platforms.

Facebook and Instagram were used most widely, and a few parties were present on

TikTok, with one party running a noticeable campaign targeting young voters.

YouTube was also

used to convey messages to voters, and parties placed advertisements on social media platforms and

through Google Ads, tailoring their messages to certain groups.

The main topics of the campaign evolved around health issues, including services for the elderly and

mental care, the economy, education and climate, but many interlocutors also stated that the debate

between and about the main prime ministerial candidates featured strongly. The tone of the campaign

was considered mostly calm and fair, with some interlocutors attributing this to reduced debate about

immigration. Many noted that the tone on social networks was generally harsher than in the traditional

media or the official campaign, including negative messages targeting women.

All parliamentary parties agreed on mutual protection against unlawful or unethical activities in the

election campaign, including pledging not to distribute deliberately false information and keeping

each other informed on any attempts of hacking, data leaks and attacks on party websites.

While

ODIHR EET interlocutors did not mention any specific instances of disinformation, two days after

elections were called, the state and military security services issued a joint statement on the possibility

of Russian interference in the elections and warning the public not to spread disinformation.

Access and participation in the campaign for persons with disabilities was raised as an issue meriting

further attention. None of the political parties met with by the ODIHR EET could indicate any

candidates with disabilities on their candidate lists for these elections, and no internal procedures or

efforts to support such candidatures have been mentioned. While access for persons with physical

disabilities to venues, in general, has been improved over the years, access to information about the

campaign, including the accessibility of party or campaign websites, is not ensured, and very few

campaign programmes were available in audio format or other accessible formats. The lack of easy-

to-read materials regarding the campaign and election procedures for the use of persons with

intellectual disabilities may have negatively impacted their participation in the election process.

To facilitate meaningful participation of all voters, parties should be encouraged to make their

programmes, campaign materials and messages in formats accessible to persons with various types

of disabilities. Parties could also initiate programmes to provide persons with disabilities with

meaningful opportunities to stand as candidates.

In October 2022, the Data Regulatory Agency issued

guidelines

for political parties on implementing the EU

General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in regard to election campaigns and the need to comply with the data

protection rules as many activities of election campaigns are considered to fall under the GDPR, including on

social media.

The Liberal Alliance focused their campaign on young voters, mainly through TikTok.

According to an analysis of the social media

advertising

by Valdemar Osted, 20 million DKK (2,7 million EUR)

were spent on Facebook advertising, twice the amount spent in the 2021 municipal elections, peaking on the day

before the elections.

The

agreement,

which is published on the website of the parliament, lists seven action points in order to keep trust

in democratic institutions and to avoid external forces using personal information to create rifts and polarization

in society and undermine the healthy exchange of views in the political debate.

See the

statement

by the Danish Security and Intelligence Service.

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VII.

POLITICAL PARTY AND CAMPAIGN FINANCE

UNDING

OURCES

The income of political parties includes donations, membership fees and public subsidies based on

the number of votes obtained in the most recent local, regional and parliamentary elections.

Any

natural or legal persons are eligible to donate. The law does not ban foreign donations, but most

ODIHR EET interlocutors stated they do not know of any donations from abroad. Donations and

membership fees are mostly received through mobile payments or bank transfers, while those in cash

are received in limited amounts.

The law does not limit amounts of income or expenditure by political parties or election campaigns,

which is at odds with international good practice.

Several ODIHR EET interlocutors claimed that

there are numerous instances in which political parties receive large donations, especially from

companies, associations and unions, which may lead to undue political influence.

Furthermore, anonymous donations below the threshold of DKK 22,200 (Approx. EUR 2,982) per

donation are permitted, which is at odds with international good practice.

Some ODIHR EET

interlocutors expressed a preference for lowering this threshold.

Furthermore, there is no limit on

the number or total amount of anonymous donations, and the individual amounts received do not need

to be disclosed, making such donations nontransparent, contrary to international good practice.

2015, the Committee on Transparency of Party Funding, an expert group set up by the government,

published an extensive report proposing reform in political financing. The report concluded, among

other things, that there should be no thresholds for donations, but the value of donations should be

Donations can also be in kind, and this includes the real value of services or advertisements provided at a reduced

price or free of charge if it is evident that the service provider usually charges a fee for a given commercial service.

Loans that are provided on more favorable terms than market value are also considered donations.

Article 3.b.ii. of

Recommendation Rec(2003)4

of the CoE’s Committee of Ministers to member states on common

rules against corruption in the funding of political parties and electoral campaigns underlines that the “[s]tates

should consider the possibility of introducing rules limiting the value of donations to political parties.”

Article 9 of

Recommendation Rec(2003)4

holds that the “[s]tates should consider adopting measures to prevent

excessive funding needs of political parties, such as, establishing limits on expenditure on electoral campaigns.”

Paragraph 213 of the

2020 ODIHR and Venice Commission Guidelines on Political Party Regulation, second

edition,

states that “Reasonable limitations on private donations may include the determination of a maximum

amount that may be contributed by a single donor. Such limitations have been shown to be effective in reducing

the possibility of corruption or the purchase of political influence.”

Donations received in breach of this provision should be transferred to the donor or, if that is not possible, to a

bank account provided by the MoIH. The annual threshold is adjusted early by the decision of the MoIH, and in

2023 the value will be DKK 22,800. According to the 2020 political party annual reports, anonymous donations

were rather limited. Paragraph 212 of the 2020

2020 ODIHR and Venice Commission Guidelines on Political Party

Regulation stipulate that the “[a]nonymous

donations should be strictly regulated, including through a limit on the

aggregate allowable amount of all anonymous donations.”

A 2015 report published by the Committee on Transparency of Party Funding recommended reducing the threshold

by 50 per cent. In advance of these elections, Transparency International Denmark

advocated

a limit of DKK 2,000

for anonymous donations. One political party (Enhedslisten) decided to

publish donations

it received of over DKK

5,000.

Article 3.a of

Recommendation Rec(2003)4

of the CoE’s Committee of Ministers to member establishes that ”

Measures taken by states governing donations to political parties should provide specific rules to […] ensure

transparency of donations and avoid secret donations”. Furthermore, paragraph 212 of the

2020 ODIHR and the

Venice Commission Guidelines on Political Party Regulation, second edition,

state that “Anonymous donations

should be strictly regulated, including through a limit on the aggregate allowable amount of all anonymous

donations. Legislation should limit the aggregate maximum amount to a reasonable level designed to ensure that

anonymous donors cannot wield undue influence.”

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published while also reducing the threshold for making the identity of the donor public.

The planned

legislative amendments are yet to be adopted by the parliament.

Several ODIHR EET interlocutors pointed out that there are several mechanisms to circumventing

the disclosure of identities of donors, including by donating to different organizations or candidates

of the same party or of different parties, by donating through several companies owned by the same

beneficial owner, and by donating indirectly through associations, business clubs or other similar

entities.

This, along with the possibility for anonymous donations, significantly reduces the

transparency of the campaign financing sources.

During the election campaign, a journalistic investigation published allegations that the

representatives of several political parties were willing to accept donations in violation of legal

procedures.

In addition, many interlocutors pointed out that the business clubs can be a means to

ensure access to policy-makers who are political party members. The MoIH informed the ODIHR

EET that a legislative proposal to connect companies with the same beneficial owner as a single

donor, has been discussed, but a calendar for its approval is not yet determined.

To avoid undue influence from unknown sources and enhance the transparency of campaign and

party financing, consideration should be given to strictly regulating anonymous donations and

requiring disclosure of contributions above a nominal amount.

Political parties and independent candidates who obtained at least 1,000 votes in the most recent

parliamentary elections are eligible to receive yearly public subsidies.

There is no separate public

funding for the election campaign, potentially disadvantaging new parties that are contesting for the

first time. The law requires that certain declarations and yearly reports, after being audited, are

presented to the MoIH.

Additionally, parliamentary groups and independent MPs can apply for

subsidies to support their activities, such as salaries and advertising for parliamentary activities and

The

report

is available in Danish.

The 2015

report

by the Committee on Transparency of Party Funding noted that “In recent years, the political

parties have received contributions from a new type of interest group, so-called associations, which are not

immediately known to the public for activities other than contributing to political parties. […] there has been a

debate in recent years as to whether the current rules allow associations and individuals to act as intermediaries,

passing on contributions to parties, and thereby helping to conceal the identity of the contributor in relation to

publicity, without the party actively contributing to the concealment.”

The Frihedsbrevet

journalists

offered to the representatives of several political parties donations of DKK 50,000

through a proxy, which requested to remain anonymous and to find ways to avoid the publication of the donor’s

name. Only a few of the politicians or staff members declined the offer.

The

2022 Rule of law report

mentions that “Additional measures on political party financing to address multiple

donations were announced by the Government though no concrete roadmap for their adoption is planned.” And

recommends that the Danish authorities should “Adopt new legislation on political party financing that will address

the issue of multiple and anonymous donations and introduce sanctions for breaching the rules on the political

parties framework.”

In 2022, the political parties and independent candidates were entitled to DKK 34.75 per vote, based on results in

the last parliamentary elections, and DKK 5 and DKK 7.75 per vote, for regional and local elections, respectively

(to be eligible for subsidies, contestants have to obtain 500 votes in regional election and in Copenhagen, and 100

votes in local elections). In total, in 2021, parties

received

DKK 123 million (including the Faroe Islands and

Greenland).

Requests should be made by the end of the year for which funds are solicited. A declaration stipulating the

minimum expenses expected to be incurred in connection to political activities for the calendar year is required.

Annual reports must be submitted to MoIH before the end of the year for which subsidies are requested.

Additionally, a declaration of a certified auditor must confirm that the minimum expenses incurred in the most

recent calendar year equal the expenses specified in the declaration.

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meetings, but these resources should not be used for the election campaign.

However, some ODIHR

EET interlocutors pointed out that some parties might use the parliamentary staff or funds foreseen

for advertisements to support their election campaign, given the limited transparency requirements.

ODIHR EET was informed that the MoIH had prepared amendments to the PPA and GPPA to

increase the limits for political parties, candidates and lists of candidates to become eligible for

subsidies, but they are yet to be adopted.

Only those who obtain representation in Parliament (or

the regional or municipal council) or come close to the electoral threshold would be eligible if the

amendments are adopted.

Most ODIHR EET interlocutors supported the proposed legislative

change noting that there have been several cases in which parties without any significant support

participated in elections with the sole intention of receiving subsidies. While acknowledging the aim

to prevent such practices, if set too high, the threshold may disadvantage small parties and prevent

the development of new parties.

XPENDITURES

There are no expenditure limits set for the contestants during the election campaign. Political parties

can use public subsidies for campaigns, as the scope of allowed spending is broadly defined as

“political activity”.

The law requires that the expenditures are enclosed in annual reports submitted

by the political parties but does not require them to indicate the expenditure for the election campaign

separately from the general party expenditure.

While the format of annual reports lacks details, the

only tools which allow the public and media to partially quantify campaign expenditures are the social

media advertisement libraries.

These shortcomings leave the election stakeholders without

mechanisms to understand the extent of campaign expenditure and reduce overall transparency.

Consideration should be given to introducing limits for political parties and electoral contestants’

donations and expenditures.

The political party headquarters, their local organizations, or the candidates themselves can incur

expenses. Most political party representatives met by ODIHR EET said the headquarters used the

highest expenditure portions to promote leadership and the party nationwide. Some ODIHR EET

interlocutors explained that local organizations and candidates also finance their campaigns, but the

In 2019, the parliamentary political parties

received

DKK 205 million and, in 2020, a total of DKK 215 million.

The basic amount for parliamentary groups (comprising four or more MPs) was DKK 324,568 in 2022 and is

increased by additional allocations. These funds do not have to be spent within the year and can be accumulated.

Parties and movements elected to the European Parliament (EP) can also apply for funds to promote EU debate

and information in Denmark; no public funding is allocated for EP elections except indirectly, as free access for

contestants to the public broadcast media.

The MoIH submitted the

amendments

to the Parliament on 30 March 2023.

A report was drafted by the Committee on the Rules of Procedure of the Parliament, published

on 11 May 2022

and submitted to the MoIH to prepare a draft law, which was

published in June 2022

and was subject to public

debate. The proposed alternative thresholds were 3.2/175 of all votes in the most recent parliamentary elections or

2/175 of all votes in parliamentary elections and representation in at least one regional or three municipal councils,

in elections held before the most recent parliamentary elections.

Subsidies can be used mainly for supporting candidates or spreading particular political views, setting up and

running organizations and collaborating with other organizations.

In the 2020 reports, which also include the year 2019, most political parties presented election campaign

expenditures separately from other activities.

The only sources of some detailed information are the

Google Political Advertising

and

Facebook

(and Instagram)

Ad Library. One independent

website analyzed

the funds spent on social media, through the Facebook Ads

campaign and highlighted that most the ads between 1 October and 1 November were paid by the People’s

Conservative Party (DKK 3.8 mil), the Liberal Alliance and Venstre (around DKK 3 million each), and the Social

Democrats (DKK 2.7 million).

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central party organizations do not control their income and expenditure, which reduces the

accountability of political party structures and is at odds with international good practice.

According

to ODIHR EET interlocutors, most of the expenditure was allocated to social media promotion and

printed or digital advertisement, and they also noted that these elections were more expensive than

the previous ones.

The law does not require reporting on expenditures made on the party’s behalf or promoting the party

without its knowledge, which could facilitate third-party contributions. Several ODIHR EET

interlocutors pointed out that the third entities, including companies or unions who traditionally

support political parties, may incur indirect expenses related to the election campaign without any

requirements to declare them as donations or expenditures, which reduces the transparency of

political financing.

Furthermore, interlocutors described campaigns supporting a specific topic

close to a political party without directly referencing the party, which could also be considered a third-

party expenditure.

To enhance the transparency and accountability of campaign financing, authorities should consider

regulating third-party campaigning, including by the entities affiliated with political parties, and

define relevant conditions for third-party campaigning and the reporting and sanctioning

mechanisms.

EPORTING AND

ISCLOSURE

There are no requirements for contestants to publish financial reports related to the campaign in the

interim or after the elections, which challenges international good practice.

Political parties

participating in the most recent parliamentary or European Parliament elections must submit annual

reports to the Parliament only for their national organizations.

Independent candidates are not

required to report donations unless they receive public subsidies.

According to the PPAA, the

annual reports of political parties should include categorized income and expenditures, the balance

sheet summarized by categories, all individual donations over DKK 22,200, the total sum of all

Paragraph 44 of the

Venice Commission Code of Good practice in the field of political parties

states that “[e]very

political party should include in its statutes mechanisms for audits of its accounts at the national level and for

supervising accounting on any regional and local levels.”

Paragraph 220 of the

2020 ODIHR and the Venice Commission Guidelines on Political Party Regulation, second

edition,

notes that “it is important that some forms of regulation, with comparable obligations and restrictions as

apply to parties and party candidates, be extended to third parties that are involved in the campaign, to ensure

transparency and accountability.”

Article 14 of

Recommendation Rec(2003)4

highlights that ”states should require particular records to be kept of

all expenditure, direct and indirect, on electoral campaigns in respect of each political party, each list of candidates

and each candidate.” Paragraph 259 of the 2020 ODIHR and the Venice Commission Guidelines on Political Party

Regulation notes that the “[r]eports on campaign financing should be submitted to the proper authorities after

elections in a timely manner, but with a reasonable deadline that allows parties to compile data, invoices,

information on reimbursements of loans, etc.”

The amendments prepared by the MoIH in 2022, if adopted by the parliament, would require individual candidates

as well as party district organisations and other local organisations other than the regional or municipal

organisations to report donations over the legal threshold in several additional circumstaces, including when they

do not receive public subsidies, where legal obligations are not already in place. District organization is defined as

the party organization at the level at which candidates are nominated for the parliamentary elections.

They must submit a declaration containing donations received over the declaration limit and total anonymous

donations to the MoIH, to be published on the MOIH’s website. No candidates were subject to these procedures in

the previous parliament.

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anonymous donations, as well as information about the impermissible anonymous donations returned

to the donor or the MoIH.

The reports cover the fiscal year period from 1 January to 31 December and have to be submitted by

the end of the following year, which may lead to a very long period before the information about

incurred income and expenditure is presented to the public. No reporting requirements exist for the

parties’ regional or local organizations that did not receive public subsidies.

Party annual reports

must only state whether donations to candidates were reported to the regional councils.

The election authorities could consider mandating that annual reports include all income and

expenditure information incurred at all party levels and by all candidates. In addition, to increase

transparency and relevance of the reporting mechanism, the timeline for submitting and publishing

the annual accounts could be shortened.

The reporting system does not clearly present the campaign income and expenditure of parties and

candidates separately from the annual funding and expenses. The regulations do not impose detailed

and itemized reporting requirements, which reduces transparency. Furthermore, it does not provide a

reporting template to ensure uniformity and streamline the reporting.

A certified auditor must audit

annual reports according to“good auditing practice”, which should not be a party member or have a

vested interest in the party.

To ensure uniform campaign finance reporting, election authorities could provide a detailed and

itemized template for preparing annual reports. Furthermore, campaign funding and spending should

be presented and detailed separately from the annual income and expenditure.

Separately from the annual reports, parties with parliamentary groups should submit reports on the

received parliamentary subsidies by 15 April.

VERSIGHT

No dedicated institution performs political party or campaign finance oversight, contrary to

international good practice.

The parties’ annual reports are submitted to the Parliament, but the

The following types of income must be reported: public funding, membership fees, donations, income from

interests and contributions from international organizations, collective private associations; trade unions, business

associations, business companies, funds and associations.

Political parties are considered associations, and there is no specific legislation on setting up and running

associations. According to the MoIH, local organizations are not required to keep general accounting. The PPAA

only mentions that lists of candidates for regional and municipal elections that are not eligible or do not wish to

apply for subsidies have to report to regional or municipal councils regarding the amount of received and returned

anonymous donations. The 2015 report by the Committee on Transparency of Party Funding recommended that

“an accounting obligation be introduced for all parts of the party as well as for individual candidates who have

been elected”.

The declarations are uploaded on the

regions’ websites

in a “reasonable period”.

In January 2023, the MoIH

published

a checklist for the parties' application for subsidies, including tips regarding

completing annual reports.

These are verified by the Presidium of the Parliament and

published

on the parliament’s website. The reports

submitted for 2020 were received with no comments.

Article 14 of

Recommendation Rec(2003)4

establishes that “States should provide for independent monitoring in

respect of the funding of political parties and electoral campaigns” and that “The independent monitoring should

include supervision over the accounts of political parties and the expenses involved in election campaigns as well

as their presentation and publication.”

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Parliament is not obligated to verify or approve them.

The annual reports are made public by the

Parliament; however, no deadline for publication is specified.

The Auditor General can request that

political parties that receive public subsidies disclose the accounting records to verify if the conditions

to receive subsidies have been met and if the funds were spent accordingly. However, according to

the representatives of the Auditor General, the institution did not initiate any such audit in recent

years, as it did not deem it a priority.

The MoIH receives requests by parties for subsidies at the

national level, and it verifies their eligibility but does not verify the submitted documentation.

practice, the verification is done by looking into the annual reports of the political parties.

Many

ODIHR EET interlocutors underlined the need for a dedicated institution to oversee the party and

campaign finances thoroughly.

In line with international standards, a dedicated institution, fully staffed and resourced, should be

designated to oversee the finances of political parties and electoral contestants.

The GPPA includes sanctions for false statements in declarations when requesting or using public

subsidies of a fine or up to four months of imprisonment. The PPAA sanctions with a fine or

imprisonment for up to four months if the requirement to return anonymous donations over the

threshold was not adhered to, for the submission of incorrect or incomplete information on

anonymous donations received and returned and regarding the veracity of information included in the

annual reports. Fines also apply for unauthorized disclosures of information about employees exempt

from paying contributions or regarding who has requested such exemption. Party organizations may

incur criminal liability according to the Criminal Code, for example, if they fail to submit annual

reports. The law does not prescribe penalties for not submitting annual reports.

Criminal

investigations can be initiated by the police, acting on a complaint or

ex officio.

However, since the

parties are not required to publish detailed information regarding the expenditure, including public

subsidies, the possibility of submitting complaints containing relevant information is limited.

VIII. ELECTION OBSERVATION

The PEA does not provide for citizen or international observation, which is inconsistent with

paragraph 8 of the 1990 OSCE Copenhagen Document.

However, the legislation establishes that

the voting and counting procedures are open to the general public. ODIHR EET was well received

and encountered no hindrances in its observation.

The legal framework should explicitly guarantee the access of citizen and international observers to

all stages of the electoral process.

Paragraph 263 of the

2020 ODIHR and Venice Commission Guidelines on Political Party Regulation

highlights

that the “transparency in reporting requires the timely publication of parties’ financial reports” and adds that “the

fulfilment of this requirement necessitates that reports contain enough details in order to be useful and

understandable for the general public”.

The reports are published on the

website

of the Parliament.

The Auditor General established the yearly audit plan which includes auditing priorities.

A political party is required to submit a declaration in which it estimates how much funds it would spend in the

given year. Funds have to be spent during the calendar year for which they have been requested.

The MoIH informed the ODIHR EET that there are no complaints related to improper use of subsidies at the central

level.

The draft law prepared by the MoIH would impose criminal liability for not submitting the annual reports.

Paragraph 8 of the

1990 OSCE Copenhagen Document

underlines that “the participating States should consider

that the presence of observers, both foreign and domestic, can enhance the electoral process for States in which

elections are taking place. They therefore invite observers from any other OSCE participating State…”

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IX.

RECOMMENDATIONS

These recommendations contained throughout the text are offered to enhance the conduct of elections

in Denmark and bring them fully in line with OSCE commitments and other international obligations

and standards for democratic elections. The OSCE/ODIHR stands ready to assist the authorities in

further improving the electoral process and following up on the recommendations in this and previous

reports.

The law should provide effective and timely remedies to electoral grievances throughout the

entire process, including those related to candidate registration and the election campaign. In

line with international good practice, judicial review of election complaints in the last instance

should be introduced.

To ensure the equality of votes, the election authorities should review the rules regarding

mandate distribution.

Consideration could be given to ensure uniformity in the presentation of candidates on the

ballot. In the absence of any changes, further voter education on the ballot composition and

different approaches of the political parties should be considered.

Constitutionally imposed restrictions on the right to vote and to stand as candidates based on

psychosocial or intellectual disabilities should be reviewed in line with international standards.

To fully support political pluralism and freedom of association in line with international good

practice, the election authorities should consider the possibility of voters signing in support of

more than one political party or independent candidate.

Authorities could consider removing all ineligibility criteria based on prior convictions. If any

such criteria remain in force, they should be precisely defined.

To facilitate meaningful participation of all voters, parties should be encouraged to make their

programmes, campaign materials and messages in formats accessible to persons with various

types of disabilities. Parties could also initiate programmes to provide persons with disabilities

with meaningful opportunities to stand as candidates.

To avoid undue influence from unknown sources and enhance the transparency of campaign

and party financing, consideration should be given to strictly regulating anonymous donations

and requiring disclosure of contributions above a nominal amount.

Consideration should be given to introducing limits for political parties and electoral

contestants’ donations and expenditures.

To enhance the transparency and accountability of campaign financing, authorities should

consider regulating third-party campaigning, including by the entities affiliated with political

parties, and define relevant conditions for third-party campaigning and the reporting and

sanctioning mechanisms.

The election authorities could consider mandating that annual reports include all income and

expenditure information incurred at all party levels and by all candidates. In addition, to

10.

11.

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increase transparency and relevance of the reporting mechanism, the timeline for submitting

and publishing the annual accounts could be shortened.

12.

To ensure uniform campaign finance reporting, election authorities could provide a detailed

and itemized template for preparing annual reports. Furthermore, campaign funding and

spending should be presented and detailed separately from the annual income and expenditure.

In line with international standards, a dedicated institution, fully staffed and resourced, should

be designated to oversee the finances of political parties and electoral contestants.

The legal framework should explicitly guarantee the access of citizen and international

observers to all stages of the electoral process.

13.

14.

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ANNEX: FINAL RESULTS

Number of votes

4,269,048

3,592,822

58,871

3,533,951

Per cent

84.1

1.6

98.4

Number

votes

971,995

470,546

327,699

293,186

286,796

278,656

194,820

181,452

133,931

129,524

117,567

93,428

31,787

18,276

4,288

3,533,951

of Per cent Number

of seats*

27.5

13.3

9.3

8.3

8.1

7.9

5.5

5.1

3.8

3.7

3.3

2.6

0.9

0.5

0.1

100

175

Eligible voters

Turnout*

Invalid votes

Valid votes

Party

The Social Democratic Party (Socialdemokratiet)

The Liberal Party (Venstre)

The Moderates (Moderaterne)

The Socialist People’s Party (Socialistisk Folkeparti)

Denmark Democrats (Danmarksdemokraterne-Inger

Støjberg)

The Liberal Alliance (Liberal Alliance)

The Conservative People’s Party (Det Konservative

Folkeparti)

The Red-Green Alliance (Enhedslisten – De Rød-Grønne)

The Social Liberal Party (Radikale Venstre)

The New Right (Nye Borgerlige)

The Alternative (Alternativet)

The Danish People’s Party (Dansk Folkeparti)

The Free Green Party (Frie Grønne)

The Christian Democratic Party (Kristendemokraterne)

Independent candidates

* Of the 179 seats (incl. Faroe Islands and Greenland)

ABOUT ODIHR

The Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) is OSCE’s principal institution

to assist participating States “to ensure full respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, to

abide by the rule of law, to promote principles of democracy and (…) to build, strengthen and protect

democratic institutions, as well as promote tolerance throughout society” (1992 Helsinki Summit

Document). This is referred to as the OSCE human dimension.

ODIHR, based in Warsaw (Poland) was created as the Office for Free Elections at the 1990 Paris

Summit and started operating in May 1991. One year later, the name of the Office was changed to

reflect an expanded mandate to include human rights and democratization. Today it employs over

150 staff.

ODIHR is the lead agency in Europe in the field of

election observation.

Every year, it co-ordinates

and organizes the deployment of thousands of observers to assess whether elections in the OSCE

region are conducted in line with OSCE commitments, other international obligations and standards

for democratic elections and with national legislation. Its unique methodology provides an in-depth

insight into the electoral process in its entirety. Through assistance projects, ODIHR helps

participating States to improve their electoral framework.

The Office’s

democratization

activities include: rule of law, legislative support, democratic

governance, migration and freedom of movement, and gender equality. ODIHR implements a number

of targeted assistance programmes annually, seeking to develop democratic structures.

ODIHR also assists participating States’ in fulfilling their obligations to promote and protect

human

rights and fundamental freedoms

consistent with OSCE human dimension commitments. This is

achieved by working with a variety of partners to foster collaboration, build capacity and provide

expertise in thematic areas, including human rights in the fight against terrorism, enhancing the

human rights protection of trafficked people, human rights education and training, human rights

monitoring and reporting, and women’s human rights and security.

Within the field of

tolerance

and

non-discrimination,

ODIHR provides support to the participating

States in strengthening their response to hate crimes and incidents of racism, xenophobia, anti-

Semitism and other forms of intolerance. ODIHR’s activities related to tolerance and non-

discrimination are focused on the following areas: legislation; law enforcement training; monitoring,

reporting on, and following up on responses to hate-motivated crimes and incidents; as well as

educational activities to promote tolerance, respect, and mutual understanding.

ODIHR provides advice to participating States on their policies on

Roma and Sinti.

It promotes

capacity-building and networking among Roma and Sinti communities, and encourages the

participation of Roma and Sinti representatives in policy-making bodies.

All ODIHR activities are carried out in close co-ordination and cooperation with OSCE participating

States, OSCE institutions and field operations, as well as with other international organizations.

More information is available on the ODIHR website (www.osce.org/odihr).