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Political support for domestic election observers is growing in the OSCE
WARSAW 31 May 2001
WARSAW, 31 May 2001 (OSCE) - Political support for domestic election observation groups is growing within the OSCE. This is one of the main results of a high-level OSCE meeting on elections which closes today.
"This meeting has shown clearly that there is growing consensus among OSCE States that domestic election observation is an important task of civil society and crucial for a democratic and credible election process", said Constantin Ene, the Special Representative of the Romanian OSCE Chairman-in-Office. "Unfortunately, domestic observers still face numerous obstacles that severely hamper their work in an increasing number of countries."
The OSCE's election office, the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), concluded that impressive improvements have been made in the fields of election administration and legislation in a number of OSCE countries over the past years. "These improvements are essential for the credibility of an election, but they cannot substitute the political will to hold genuinely democratic elections", said ODIHR Director Gérard Stoudmann. "More attention has to be paid to the political follow-up."
More than 200 election experts, government representatives and non-governmental organizations participated in the three-day meeting, which also focused on the relationship between the respect for human rights and election processes, on the correlation between elections and economic development and good governance, and on the role of elections for stability.
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For further information, please contact Jens-Hagen Eschenbächer, OSCE/ODIHR Spokesperson, Warsaw, +48 22 5200 600 or +48 603 683 122.
"This meeting has shown clearly that there is growing consensus among OSCE States that domestic election observation is an important task of civil society and crucial for a democratic and credible election process", said Constantin Ene, the Special Representative of the Romanian OSCE Chairman-in-Office. "Unfortunately, domestic observers still face numerous obstacles that severely hamper their work in an increasing number of countries."
The OSCE's election office, the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), concluded that impressive improvements have been made in the fields of election administration and legislation in a number of OSCE countries over the past years. "These improvements are essential for the credibility of an election, but they cannot substitute the political will to hold genuinely democratic elections", said ODIHR Director Gérard Stoudmann. "More attention has to be paid to the political follow-up."
More than 200 election experts, government representatives and non-governmental organizations participated in the three-day meeting, which also focused on the relationship between the respect for human rights and election processes, on the correlation between elections and economic development and good governance, and on the role of elections for stability.
--
For further information, please contact Jens-Hagen Eschenbächer, OSCE/ODIHR Spokesperson, Warsaw, +48 22 5200 600 or +48 603 683 122.