OSCE/ODIHR opens observation mission for parliamentary elections in Hungary
BUDAPEST, 6 March 2018 – The OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) today formally opened its limited election observation mission for the 8 April parliamentary elections in Hungary. The mission’s deployment follows an official invitation from the Hungarian authorities.
The mission is led by Douglas Wake and consists of a core team of 9 experts based in Budapest. In addition, ODIHR requested that OSCE participating States second 10 long-term observers, who will be deployed throughout the country from 14 March.
The mission will assess the parliamentary elections for compliance with OSCE commitments and other international standards and obligations for democratic elections, as well as with domestic legislation. Observers will follow the candidate registration process, campaign activities, the work of the election administration and relevant state bodies, implementation of the legal framework and the resolution of election disputes. As part of the observation, the mission will also monitor the media coverage of the campaign.
In the course of its observation, the mission will meet with representatives of relevant authorities and of political parties, as well as with representatives of civil society, the media and the international community. While the mission will visit a limited number of polling stations on election day, systematic observation of voting, counting or tabulation of results is not envisaged.
A statement of preliminary findings and conclusions will be issued on the day after the elections. A final report on the observation of the entire election process and including recommendations will be published approximately two months after the completion of the election process.
For further information, please contact Ulvi Akhundlu, OSCE/ODIHR Election Adviser, at + 36 307 410991 (Budapest mobile), + 48 695 808 813 (Warsaw mobile) or [email protected]
or
Thomas Rymer, OSCE/ODIHR Spokesperson, at +48 609 522 266 (Warsaw mobile) or at [email protected]