News and press releases

Elections experts from the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) met with electoral stakeholders in Tashkent on 3 and 4 July 2017 to present recommendations from ODIHR’s final report  on the 4 December 2016 early presidential election in Uzbekistan. The report’s findings

While noting that contestants in Bulgaria’s 26 March 2017 early parliamentary elections could campaign freely and that the legal framework is generally conducive to holding democratic elections, the final report by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) includes among its recommendations the review of suffrage rights and arrangements for voting abroad, and permitting the use of languages other than Bulgarian.

A two-day workshop on the introduction of new technology in the electoral process was opened on 29 June 2017 in Podgorica...

Brussels, 27 June 2017 − Today, the EU Commissioner for European Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations Johannes Hahn and the Director of OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) Michael Georg Link launched a new project to support democratic elections in the Western Balkans...

ULAANBAATAR, 27 June 2017 – The 26 June 2017 presidential election in Mongolia was competitive and well-organized, featuring a short yet fierce campaign; the election administration largely enjoyed public confidence and the freedoms of assembly and expression were generally respected. However, protracted resolution of complaints, as well as pending court cases, led to uncertainty regarding candidacies. The media coverage was extensive, but largely devoid of analytical reporting, the international observers concluded in a statement released today...

A new Election Expert Database was launched by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) on 26 June 2017 to improve the management of staff recruitment for all ODIHR election observation activities. The new database is designed to further increase the transparency and

TIRANA, 26 June 2017 – The 25 June parliamentary elections in Albania took place following a political agreement between the leaders of the Socialist Party (SP) and Democratic Party (DP) that secured the participation of the opposition. Electoral contestants were able to campaign freely and fundamental freedoms of assembly and expression were respected. The implementation of the political agreement, however, created challenges for the election administration and resulted in a selective and inconsistent application of the law, international observers concluded in a statement today.