WILLEMSTAD – Curaçao’s Electoral Council has introduced a formal complaints procedure for citizens dissatisfied with the conduct of the Council or its staff, bringing the electoral body into compliance with a legal obligation highlighted by the Ombudsman last year.
The new procedure was adopted on August 10 and published in the Landscourant. It establishes an official process through which citizens can file complaints about the conduct of members of the Electoral Council or employees of its secretariat in specific situations.
Complaints may concern both actions and failures to act. This could include allegations of improper treatment or failure to make a decision within a reasonable period. The procedure also allows complaints to be resolved quickly and informally when the issue can be addressed without going through the full formal process.
The introduction follows criticism from the Ombudsman of Curaçao, who concluded in October 2025 that the Electoral Council still did not have a formal complaints procedure despite being legally required to establish and publish one under the Lei Konseho Supremo Elektoral.
At the time, the Ombudsman gave the Council six months to comply with the requirement. That period expired at the end of April 2026. The Electoral Council ultimately adopted the procedure on August 10, more than three months after the recommended deadline had passed.
The Ombudsman’s investigation originated from a complaint filed by a political party concerning a decision made by the Electoral Council. During that investigation, it became clear that while there were ways for parties or citizens to raise objections, there was no formal complaints procedure meeting the requirements established by law.
The newly adopted rules now specify how complaints must be submitted, processed and assessed. Conduct by employees of the Electoral Council’s secretariat can also be attributed to the Council for purposes of the complaints procedure.
The measure is intended to provide citizens with greater clarity about how to seek redress when they believe they have been treated improperly by the Electoral Council or its employees.
With the adoption of the procedure, the Electoral Council has addressed the regulatory gap identified by the Ombudsman, although it did so several months after the deadline recommended by the watchdog.