The Congress Bureau met in Visegrád, Hungary, on 4 and 5 October 2021 to discuss the situation of local and regional democracy in several member states.

The Bureau expressed concern about the situation in Turkey, where opposition politicians are in long-term detention – including Nurhayat Altun and Leyla Güven, two former Congress members. The Bureau also shared its concerns regarding the situation in Belarus, especially regarding the dissolution of the Lev Sapieha Foundation, an organisation of independent experts on local self-government which had enjoyed guest observer status with the Congress since 2001.

The Bureau took note of the reports on the Congress observations of the recent local and regional elections in Morocco as well as the local elections in Georgia. It confirmed the Congress’ participation in observing the forthcoming regional elections in Denmark and the elections of the local self-government bodies in Armenia.

More https://www.coe.int/en/web/congress/-/congress-bureau-met-in-visegrad-hungary