News and press releases

SKOPJE, 1 November 2021 – The second round of North Macedonia’s local elections was competitive and the election administration took efforts to address some procedural shortcomings from the first round. However, negative rhetoric and allegations of pressure on voters and candidates continued to affect the elections, international observers from the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) said in a statement today.

TBILISI, 31 October 2021 – The second round of Georgia’s local elections was generally competitive and organized professionally, but increasing polarization and negative rhetoric, as well as allegations of voter intimidation and the continuing advantage of incumbency, demonstrate the need for further reforms, international observers said in a statement today.

Ahead of the municipal elections in Cetinje and Petnjica on 5 December 2021, the OSCE Mission to Montenegro, the Association of Youth with Disabilities and the Union of Blind of Montenegro delivered an online training course on 28 October for representatives of the local Municipal Electoral Commissions (MECs) on how to improve accessibilty of polling stations and voting materials.

The 2021 early parliamentary elections in Armenia were competitive and generally well-managed within a short timeframe. They were, however, characterized by intense polarization and marred by increasingly inflammatory rhetoric among key contestants. While the legal framework is generally

Following this year’s elections in Bulgaria, the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) has published reports on the 4 April parliamentary elections  and 11 July early parliamentary elections. In the April parliamentary elections fundamental freedoms were respected. The

TASHKENT, 25 October 2021 – Despite recent welcome reforms, the lack of genuine pluralism and meaningful engagement between candidates or with citizens meant that Uzbekistan’s presidential election was not truly competitive, while significant procedural irregularities were noted on election day, international observers said in a statement today.

BISHKEK, 19 October 2021 – The OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) today opened an election observation mission (EOM) for the 28 November parliamentary elections in Kyrgyzstan, following an invitation from the national authorities.