Some 75 members of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly will soon be travelling to the United States to observe the 6 November midterm elections. Led by Special Co-ordinator of the OSCE short-term observer mission George Tsereteli (MP, Georgia) and Head of the OSCE PA mission Isabel Santos (MP, Portugal), the observers will participate in several days of meetings and briefings in Washington, DC, before deploying around the country for election day observation.
It is the seventh time the OSCE PA has deployed an election observation mission to the United States since 2004. The elections will be assessed for their adherence to democratic commitments laid out in the OSCE’s Copenhagen Document of 1990.
“As members of parliament from across Europe, Central Asia and North America and as representatives of the world’s largest regional security organization, OSCE parliamentarians bring a unique perspective to every election that we observe,” said Tsereteli, who also serves as President of the OSCE PA. “We have all competed in elections ourselves, so we personally understand the importance of a level playing field for electoral contestants and a clear understanding of the rules.”
Santos, who serves as Vice-President of the OSCE PA, added: “Election observation is one of the most important activities of the OSCE. Not only does it serve to uphold the democratic standards to which we have all agreed, it helps build trust within countries and between countries. In these times of heightened tensions, it is important for us to engage in these confidence-building activities.”
Parliamentarians from more than 30 of the OSCE’s 57 countries are expected to participate in the observation mission to the United States. The OSCE PA is working closely with the limited election observation mission deployed by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), led by Tana de Zulueta.
Preliminary findings and conclusions of the election observation mission will be presented at a press conference in Washington on 7 November.