National, Park Forest

OSCE/ODIHR to Organize Election Observation Mission in the United States


Image result for voting images

WASHINGTON D.C.–(ENEWSPF)–4 October 2016 – The Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE/ODIHR) today officially opened an election observation mission for the general elections to be held in the United States on 8 November 2016.

The election observation mission’s deployment follows an invitation from the United States Government. As a participating State in the OSCE, the United States has committed itself to conducting elections in line with OSCE standards and inviting international election observers. ODIHR has assessed elections in the United States since 2002.

The mission is led by Ambassador Audrey Glover and consists of 12 international experts based in Washington D.C. and 26 long-term observers to be deployed throughout the country in teams of two, from 11 October. The observers are drawn from 15 OSCE participating States. In addition, ODIHR requested that OSCE participating States provide 400 short-term observers. The observers sent in response to this request will arrive several days before election day.

Observers will assess these elections for compliance with international obligations and standards for democratic elections, including the commitments agreed to by all the OSCE participating States, and with national legislation. The mission will analyse the legal framework and its implementation, and will follow campaign activities, the work of the election administration and relevant government bodies, including voter registration, and the resolution of election disputes. As part of its observation, the ODIHR mission will carry out a comprehensive assessment of the media landscape and coverage.

The mission will meet with representatives from relevant federal and state authorities, political parties, the judiciary, civil society and the media. On election day, observers will follow the opening of polling stations, voting, the counting of ballots and the tabulation of results. For election day, the mission will join efforts with a delegation from the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly (OSCE PA).

The mission will publish one interim report in the course of its work. The day after the elections, a statement of preliminary findings and conclusions will be issued and presented to the public at a press conference. A final report on the observation of the entire electoral process will be published approximately two months after the completion of the election process.

Additional information on the observation mission for the United States general elections can be found at: http://www.osce.org/odihr/elections/usa.

Source: http://osce.org

 

 

 

 


ARCHIVES