News and press releases
News and press releases from the OSCE's global activities.
Polling station staff did commendable job on election day, but concerns regarding higher commissions and deficiencies in the law point to need for reform, OSCE/ODIHR observers say in Ukraine
Publishing date: 16 November 2015
KYIV, 16 November 2015 – The second round of Ukraine’s mayoral elections saw business interests influencing the process in most contests, and many candidates focusing their efforts on local coalition building more than on reaching out to voters, observers from the OSCE Office for Democratic Elections and Human Rights (ODIHR) concluded in a statement issued today. There was little active campaigning. In a positive development, debates were organized between candidates in a number of regions, the observers said...
OSCE trains election observers from Kazakhstan
Publishing date: 5 November 2015
ASTANA, 5 November 2015- An OSCE-supported training seminar for election observers and members of the Central Election Commission (CEC) took place today in Astana...
Elections in Turkey offered voters variety of choices, but process was hindered by challenging security environment, incidents of violence and restrictions against media, international election observers say
Publishing date: 2 November 2015
ANKARA, 2 November 2015 – The 1 November early parliamentary elections in Turkey offered voters a variety of choices. At the same time, the challenging security environment, particularly in the southeast of the country, coupled with a high number of violent incidents, including attacks against party members, premises and campaign staff, hindered contestants’ ability to campaign freely, international observers said in a statement issued today. Restrictions on media freedom remain a serious concern, the observers said...
OSCE election observation leaders in Turkey complete multi-city visit
Publishing date: 29 October 2015
ANKARA, 29 October 2015 – The OSCE Special Co-ordinator for observation of the early parliamentary elections in Turkey, Ignacio Sanchez Amor (MP, Spain), and the Head of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly Delegation of observers, Margareta Cederfelt (MP, Sweden), visited the center, east and west of the country this week in preparation for the 1 November vote.
Ukraine local elections generally respected democratic process, but additional efforts needed to enhance public confidence, international observers say
Publishing date: 26 October 2015
KYIV, 26 October 2015 – Ukraine’s local elections were competitive and well organized overall, and the campaign generally showed respect for the democratic process, international observers concluded in a statement issued today. Nevertheless, the complexity of the legal framework, the dominance of powerful economic groups, threats and physical attacks against candidates, and the fact that virtually all campaign coverage in the media was paid for all underscore the need for further reform. Additional efforts are needed to further enhance the integrity of and public confidence in the electoral process, the observers said...
OSCE parliamentarians to observe early parliamentary elections in Turkey
Publishing date: 19 October 2015
COPENHAGEN, 19 October 2015 – OSCE parliamentarians will observe the upcoming early parliamentary elections in Turkey and provide leadership for the OSCE's short-term observer mission...
OSCE/ODIHR presents recommendations from final report on 2015 local elections in Albania
Publishing date: 16 October 2015
Elections experts from the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) met with electoral stakeholders in Tirana from 14 to 16 October 2015 to present recommendations from the final report on the 21 June 2015 local elections in Albania.