News and press releases

The OSCE Mission to Montenegro and its international partners organized a two-day workshop on Lessons Learned after the 2016 Parliamentary Elections, for staff of the State Election Commission (SEC) and of the Municipal Election Commissions (MEC) on 21-22 November 2016 in Budva. The event was followed by three-day training on International Standards in Election Administration...

ASTANA, 22 November 2016 – Election observers and Members of the Central Election Commission (CEC) took part today in Astana in an OSCE-supported training seminar on various aspects of the electoral rights of people with disabilities and the elderly...

CHISINAU, 14 November 2016 – The second round of the presidential election in Moldova was competitive, with respect for fundamental freedoms. The campaign, featuring televised debates, allowed the two candidates to address voters directly. However, increasingly polarized media coverage, harsh and intolerant rhetoric and continued instances of abuse of administrative resources detracted from the process. Complaints, mostly related to campaign finance, were not resolved in a timely and consistent manner, the international observers concluded in a preliminary statement released today...

WASHINGTON, 8 November, 2016 – The 8 November general elections in the United States were highly competitive and demonstrated commitment to fundamental freedoms of expression, assembly and association. The presidential campaign was characterized by harsh personal attacks, as well as intolerant rhetoric, particularly by one candidate, international observers from the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights and the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly concluded in a preliminary statement released today.

A senior elections expert began a three-day visit to Albania on 7 November 2016 as part of the OSCE Presence’s assistance to the electoral reform in the county, ahead of the June 2017 general elections...

OSH, Kyrgyzstan, 5 November 2016 – A forum of women candidates for local council elections was organized today in Osh city with the aim of encouraging some 125 graduates of Women’s Leadership Schools from the Bishkek, Issyk-Kul, Osh and Batken regions to participate in the 11 December local council elections...

SKOPJE, 3 November 2016 – The OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) today formally opened an election observation mission (EOM) for the early parliamentary elections scheduled for 11 December in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. The mission’s deployment follows an invitation from the authorities...