Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe

Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights

Radmila Šekerinska (c), the head of the OSCE/ODIHR Election Observation Mission for the 6 May parliamentary elections in Armenia, speaking during a press conference in Yerevan, 7 May 2012. (OSCE/Thomas Rymer)

ODIHR deploys election observation missions to OSCE participating States to assess the implementation of OSCE commitments relating to elections. The Office also conducts technical-assistance projects and legislative reviews.

A man checks the voters list outside a polling station in Madrid. The people of Spain voted in early parliamentary elections on November 20, 2011. (OSCE/Michael Meyer)

OSCE/ODIHR presents electoral recommendations in Spain

A team from the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) visited Madrid from 26 to 29 November 2012 to present the final report of the Election Assessment Mission for last year’s early parliamentary elections in Spain...

A billboard outside the Dutch Parliament displaying the election posters of all the political parties participating in the 12 September 2012 early parliamentary elections in the Netherlands. The Hague, 3 September 2012.

OSCE/ODIHR report says Netherlands early parliamentary elections open and pluralistic, recommends improvements to legal framework

The early parliamentary elections in the Netherlands on 12 September 2012 were conducted in an open and pluralistic manner, but the legal framework could be brought more fully in line with OSCE commitments, concludes the final report by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) released on 16 November 2012...

People lining up to vote at a polling station in a police headquarters in the Anacostia area of Washington, D.C., 6 November 2012.

US elections highly competitive and professionally administered, steps needed to address specific concerns

WASHINGTON, 7 November 2012 – The general elections in the United States took place in a highly competitive and pluralistic environment, and were administered in a professional manner, but steps should be taken to address specific concerns, the observation mission deployed by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) concluded in a statement released today...

A woman casts her vote in the town of Irpin during Ukraine's parliamentary elections on 28 October 2012.

Ukrainian elections marred by lack of level playing field, say international observers

KYIV, 29 October 2012 – Ukraine’s parliamentary elections were characterized by a tilted playing field, the international observers concluded in a statement released today. This was the result, primarily, of the abuse of administrative resources, as well as a lack of transparency in campaign and party financing and of balanced media coverage...

ODIHR Director Ambassador Janez Lenarcic addresses a session of NATO's Parliamentary Assembly at the Sejm, Poland's parliament, in Warsaw on 16 November 2010.

Threat of criminal prosecution of observers at odds with established co-operation on United States elections, ODIHR Director says

WARSAW, 24 October 2012 – Ambassador Janez Lenarčič, the Director of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), expressed his grave concern over the threat of criminal prosecution of OSCE/ODIHR election observers...

Officials in Ryazan enter election results from polling stations into a table of results at a higher-level election commission as a measure of transparency during the 14 October 2012 ‘single voting day’ in the Russian Federation.

OSCE/ODIHR expert team in Ryazan follows Russia’s direct local elections

Following an invitation from the Russian Central Election Commission, the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) sent a team of experts to Ryazan to follow election-day proceedings and the use of new voting technologies during the 14 October 2012 ‘single voting day’...

A polling board member in the Golubovci settlement of Podgorica checking a voter’s identification before giving him a ballot during early parliamentary elections in Montenegro, 14 October 2012.

Montenegro elections pluralistic with respect for fundamental rights, although confidence-building is needed, observers say

PODGORICA, 15 October 2012 – Montenegro’s early parliamentary elections on 14 October took place in a peaceful and pluralistic environment with respect for fundamental rights, although continued lack of confidence needs to be addressed, international observers said in a statement issued today...

(L-r) Eric Des Pallieres and Dragan Zelić, Long-term observers from the OSCE/ODIHR Limited Election Observation Mission to the 6 November 2012 General elections in the United States; Daan Everts, the Head of the Mission, and Goran Petrov, the Mission’s Election Analyst, watch Mark Anderson, Election Supervisor of Bay County, collect the printout from a ballot scanning machine during a test. Panama City, Florida, 24 October 2012.

OSCE/ODIHR opens mission to observe general elections in United States

WASHINGTON D.C., 9 October 2012 – The Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE/ODIHR) today officially opened an election observation mission for the general elections to be held in the United States on 6 November...