The OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) today opened an election observation mission for the 2 October early parliamentary elections in Bulgaria, following an official invitation from the national authorities.
The mission is headed by Nina Suomalainen and consists of a core team of 11 international experts based in Sofia and 12 long-term observers, who will be deployed throughout the country from 7 September. ODIHR has also requested 200 short-term observers, to arrive several days before election day.
The mission will assess the conduct of the elections for their compliance with OSCE commitments and other international obligations and standards for democratic elections, as well as with national legislation.
Observers will closely monitor all aspects of the elections, including pre and post-election developments. Specific areas of focus include the implementation of the legal framework, candidate registration, the conduct of the campaign including on social networks, as well as the work of the election administration at all levels, election dispute resolution and media coverage. They will also assess the implementation of previous ODIHR election recommendations.
Meetings with representatives of state authorities, political parties and candidates, civil society, the media and the international community form an integral part of the observation.
On election day, the ODIHR mission will join efforts with a delegation from the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe to observe the opening of polling stations, voting, counting ballots and tabulation of results.
An interim report will be published two weeks prior to the elections to update the public and media on the observation mission’s activities. The day after the elections, the mission’s preliminary findings and conclusions will be presented at a press conference. A final report with an assessment of the entire election process and containing recommendations will be published some months after the elections.
