The OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) today opened an election observation mission for the 2 October general elections in Bosnia and Herzegovina, following an official invitation from the national authorities and a needs assessment mission conducted in June this year.
The mission is headed by Ambassador Peter Tejler and consists of a core team of 13 international experts based in Sarajevo and 24 long-term observers, who will be deployed throughout the country from 31 August. ODIHR also plans to request 300 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 such as voter registration, the conduct of the campaign including on social networks, the work of the election administration at all levels, election-related legislation and its implementation, media coverage, and election dispute resolution. They will also assess the implementation of previous ODIHR election recommendations.
Meetings with representatives of state authorities and political parties, 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 the delegations from the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly (OSCE PA), the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), the European Parliament (EP), and the Parliamentary Assembly of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO PA) to observe the opening of polling stations, voting, the counting of ballots and the tabulation of results.
An interim report will be published some two weeks prior to the elections to update the public and the media on the observation mission’s activities. The day after the elections, a statement of 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.
