MINSK, 9 July 2017 – Austrian parliamentarian Christine Muttonen was elected to a second term as President of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly today at the OSCE PA’s Annual Session in Minsk. Upon her re-election, the President thanked the Assembly for its support and pledged to continue the work that she has pursued since being elected in Tbilisi last year.
“In particular, I will continue pushing governments to find solutions to our enduring challenges,” President Muttonen said. “This means working for an effective OSCE – including by filling vacant positions that currently exist in the Organization – and increasing the involvement of parliamentarians in OSCE.”
In today’s final session, election results were also announced for positions on the Assembly’s Bureau, including four Vice-Presidents and Treasurer.
Member of the German Bundestag Doris Barnett was re-elected Treasurer by acclimation. The Assembly elected Italian parliamentarian Marietta Tidei, United States Senator Roger Wicker, Swedish parliamentarian Margareta Cederfelt, and re-elected Romanian parliamentarian Victor Dobre as vice-presidents.
For more information about the Annual Session, including the full text of the OSCE PA’s Minsk Declaration, please visit https://www.oscepa.org/meetings/annual-sessions/2017-minsk-annual-session. Photos are available for public use on the PA’s Flickr page at www.flickr.com/oscepa and the Belarusian Parliament’s Flickr page at https://www.flickr.com/photos/houseofrepresentatives/. A video playlist is available here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLWSg38GfTQV-ERQzAAw8I_CiFcGui-Yac
The OSCE Parliamentary Assembly is comprised of 323 parliamentarians from 57 countries spanning Europe, Central Asia and North America. The Assembly provides a forum for parliamentary diplomacy, monitors elections, and strengthens international co-operation to uphold commitments on political, security, economic, environmental and human rights issues.