COPENHAGEN, 28 November 2016 – OSCE parliamentarians will observe the upcoming parliamentary elections in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, and provide leadership for the short-term OSCE observer mission.
OSCE Chairperson-in-Office Frank-Walter Steinmeier has appointed Roberto Battelli (MP, Slovenia) as Special Co-ordinator to lead the short-term OSCE observer mission for the 11 December vote. Azay Guliyev (MP, Azerbaijan) will serve as Head of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly delegation, which will include around 25 MPs from 12 OSCE participating States.
“My fellow observers and I look forward to following the electoral process in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia in great detail. Given the postponement of these elections in the past and political crises in the country, there is a timely need for credible elections that will help bring an end to political maneuvers that are detrimental for the country,” Special Co-ordinator Battelli said.
Battelli is Vice-President of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly and its Special Representative on South East Europe. A Member of Parliament in Slovenia since the country’s first democratic elections in 1990, and a member of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly since 1992, he has taken part in more than 30 election observation missions. He has served as Special Co-ordinator of five election observation missions in the South East Europe region.
Azay Guliyev, who will lead the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly Delegation of observers, is also an OSCE PA Vice-President, and has been a Member of Parliament in Azerbaijan since 2005. He led the Assembly’s delegation for the parliamentary elections in Montenegro in October 2016.
“I hope to observe a transparent and open process, and to seeing the electoral administration translate into action the OSCE/ODIHR’s recommendations made after recent election observations in the country,” Guliyev said.
The OSCE Parliamentary Assembly previously observed elections in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia in 2014, 2011, 2009, 2008, 2002, 1998 and 1994.
OSCE PA Communications and Press