According to the Electoral Integrity Global Report 2019-2021, Europe is leading the world in terms of election integrity. Northern European countries Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden, and Iceland had some of the world’s highest rankings, leading to Europe being the world’s highest rated region. Germany, the Netherlands and other countries in Western Europe also scored high. Bulgaria, a country that implemented electronic voting in 8 elections last year, saw the world’s largest increase in electoral integrity, together with Africa’s Burkina Faso.
Despite these impressive rankings, election administration in Europe is not immune to global challenges such as COVID-19 restrictions, fake news, and cybersecurity threats. To discuss these topics, European election experts met at the European Regional Forum in Budapest, Hungary. The event was organized by the Association of European Election Officials (ACEEEO). The forum gathered more than 100 election practitioners and featured 23 high-level keynote speakers.
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Iva Todorova, a Smartmatic representative who attended the event, considered the discussion extremely useful and relevant. “We are honored to have joined such a select group of election stakeholders who are working to overcome the challenges election administrators face in Europe and around the world. At Smartmatic, we’re convinced that solutions to the world’s most pressing problems start with successfully empowering people through voting and participation. This conviction is a driving force for everything we do.”
In 2021, Smartmatic provided electronic voting machines to automate elections in Bulgaria. A first-ever nationwide deployment of electronic voting machines led to increased efficiency and transparency. Commenting on this experience, Todorova stated, “In our experience, technology can play an important role to improve election integrity. We’re proud that our technology played a role in helping Bulgaria become a worldwide reference.”
ACEEEO is regional organization promoting the institutionalization and professionalization of democratic procedures in the region since 1991.
