OSCE/ODIHR begins observation of presidential and municipal elections in Bulgaria

SOFIA, 28 September 2011 – The OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) today opened a limited observation mission to monitor the 23 October presidential and municipal elections in Bulgaria.

ODIHR was invited by Bulgaria’s government to observe the elections, in line with the country’s commitments as a participating State of the OSCE.

The mission is headed by Vadim Zhdanovich and consists of 11 international experts based in Sofia and ten long-term observers to be deployed to the country’s regions.

Observers will follow the work of the election administration and relevant state bodies, implementation of the new legislative framework, campaign activities, and the resolution of election disputes. As part of the observation, the mission will also monitor the media coverage of the campaign.

In line with ODIHR’s methodology for limited election observation missions, the mission will not carry out systematic or comprehensive observation of the voting, counting and tabulation on election day. Mission members will, however, visit a small number of polling stations across the country to follow election day procedures.

A statement of preliminary findings and conclusions will be issued on the day after the election. A final report on the observation of the entire electoral process will be published approximately two months after the completion of the election process.