Press release

HELSINKI, 26 March 2008 - The OSCE Chairman-in-Office, Foreign Minister Ilkka Kanerva, appointed today Kimmo Kiljunen, a Finnish member of parliament, as his Special Envoy on election-related issues.

The Special Envoy will gather views on elections and election observation, and examine possibilities to develop the OSCE's election-related activities.

As OSCE Chairman-in-Office, Finland has emphasized the implementation of OSCE commitments related to elections and election observation by the 56 participating States. Minister Kanerva has encouraged dialogue on democratic elections and international observation of elections in the OSCE area.

Special Envoy Kiljunen has long experience with the OSCE and its election observation activities. He has led several OSCE election observation missions, most recently for the parliamentary elections held in Kyrgyzstan last December. He is a Vice President of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly and its Special Representative for Central Asia.