Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights

CHISINAU, 29 July 2009 - The international election observation mission deployed to monitor the 29 July parliamentary elections in Moldova will present its preliminary statement at a news conference on Thursday.

The mission is a joint undertaking of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (OSCE/ODIHR), the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly (OSCE PA), the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), and the European Parliament (EP).

The preliminary statement will be delivered by Petros Efthymiou, Head of the OSCE PA delegation and Special Co-ordinator of the OSCE short-term observers, followed by Mevlut Cavusoglu, Head of the PACE delegation, Marian-Jean Marinescu, Head of the EP delegation, and Ambassador Boris Frlec, Head of the OSCE/ODIHR election observation mission.

The international election observation mission comprises some 300 observers from 40 countries, including 44 long-term and 189 short-term observers deployed by the OSCE/ODIHR, as well as 39 parliamentarians and staff from the OSCE PA, 16 from the PACE and 11 from the EP.

Journalists are invited to attend the news conference at 14:00 on Thursday, 30 July, at the Leogrand hotel, in Chisinau.

For further information contact:

Klas Bergman, OSCE PA, mobile: +373 680 964 04 or +45 60 10 83 80, klas@oscepa.dk

Jens-Hagen Eschenbächer, OSCE/ODIHR, mobile: +373 687 267 88 or +48 603 683 122, jens.eschenbaecher@odihr.pl

Ivi-Triin Odrats, PACE, mobile: +33 662 46 29 79, ivi-triin.odrats@coe.int

Dick Toornstra, EP, mobile +373 600 20 285m dick.toornstra@europarl.europa.eu