Proceedings for deciding on election disputes

The Constitutional Court decides in respect of election conflicts for which the court competence has not been specified by law. A request for deciding on an election dispute, which must include the reasons and evidence due to which deciding in respect of the election dispute is requested, may be submitted by: any voter, a candidate for the President of the Republic, i.e. a member of parliament or councilman, as well as the proposer of the candidate, and may be submitted within 15 days at the latest from the date the election procedure which is being disputed has finished.  A copy of the submitted request for deciding on an election dispute is served by the Constitutional Court to the body for conducting the election in respect of whose activity the election dispute is being initiated, with an order that its reply be submitted within the specified time-frame, as well as the necessary election acts i.e. documentation.

 

If an irregularity in elections procedure have been proven, and affected the outcome of elections in an important way, the Constitutional Court shall cancel the whole elections procedure or parts of this procedure. Herein, it must be precisely designated which parts are in question. In this case, the whole elections procedure or parts of this procedure shall be repeated, within 10 days from the date the Constitutional Court's decision has been served to the competent body. The Constitutional Court's decision on cancellation of the entire elections procedure or part of this procedure takes legal effect from the date it has been served to the competent body.

A decision in respect of validation of members of parliament mandates can be appealed before the Constitutional Court by a member of parliament candidate and the proposer of the candidate. The body whose decision has been appealed to is obliged to submit to the Constitutional Court the necessary documentation, within 24 hours from the moment the appeal is filed. The Constitutional Court is obliged to make its decision within 72 hours from the moment the appeal is filed.