Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights

Counting begins at a polling station in Jurmala during Latvia's early parliamentary elections, 17 September 2011. (OSCE/Jens Eschenbaecher)
Counting begins at a polling station in Jurmala during Latvia's early parliamentary elections, 17 September 2011. (OSCE/Jens Eschenbaecher)

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.

Spain’s November elections democratic and transparent, some recent amendments at odds with OSCE commitments, concludes ODIHR report

Spain’s early parliamentary elections in November were democratic and conducted transparently but some recent amendments to the electoral legal framework appear to be at odds with OSCE Commitments, concludes the ODIHR final report...
The triple bridge (Tromostovje) in the heart of Ljubljana. OSCE/ODIHR deployed an election assessment mission for the 4 December 2011 early parliamentary elections in Slovenia.

Slovenia’s legal framework provides sound basis for democratic elections, some aspects could benefit from further review, says ODIHR final report

Slovenia’s early parliamentary polls in December showed that the legislative framework provided a sound basis for the conduct of democratic elections, although certain aspects could benefit from further review, the ODIHR final report says...
Nicola Schmidt, Deputy Head of the ODIHR Elections Department (left), and Ambassador Geert-Hinrich Ahrens, the head of the OSCE/ODIHR election observation mission at a polling station in the village of Marija Gorica during the 4 December 2011 parliamentary elections in Croatia.

ODIHR report says Croatia’s December elections pluralistic and transparent, recommends improvements to legal framework and compilation of voter lists

Croatia’s parliamentary elections on 4 December 2011 were pluralistic and administered transparently but further steps should be taken to improve the legal framework and the compilation of voter lists, concludes ODIHR's final report...
Bern, Switzerland

Switzerland’s elections to Federal Assembly vibrant and pluralistic, some concerns over regional variations, says ODIHR report

Switzerland’s elections to the Federal Assembly on 23 October 2011 demonstrated that Swiss democracy is deep-rooted and pluralistic but the decentralized system of government leads to some regional variations in electoral practice, concludes the final report of the OSCE/ODIHR election assessment mission...
St. Basil's Cathedral, Moscow. OSCE/ODIHR formally opened its observation mission to monitor the upcoming 4 March 2012 presidential elections in the Russian Federation on 26 January 2012.

OSCE/ODIHR opens observation mission for Russian presidential election

MOSCOW, 26 January 2012 – The OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) today formally opened its election observation mission to monitor the upcoming 4 March presidential election in the Russian Federation...
As a precaution against fraud, each voter's finger was marked with ink during Albania's 2009 parliamentary elections, Elbasan, 28 June 2009.

ODIHR working with Albania on planned election law amendments

The OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) will provide expertise to Albania’s Special Parliamentary Committee on Electoral Reform, including through expert team visits to Tirana, in 2012...
Election commission members counting ballots during early parliamentary elections in Kazakhstan, Astana, 15 January 2012.

Kazakhstan’s parliamentary vote, though well administered, did not meet key democratic principles

ASTANA, 16 January 2012 – Notwithstanding the government’s stated ambition to strengthen Kazakhstan’s democratic processes and conduct elections in line with international standards, the early parliamentary vote still did not meet fundamental principles of democratic elections, international observers concluded in a statement issued today...
Voters casting their ballots during the Russian State Duma elections, Moscow, 4 December 2011.

OSCE/ODIHR final report on Russian Duma elections says contest ‘slanted in favour of the ruling party’

A report released by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) on 12 January 2012 said that, although December’s Russian State Duma elections were technically well-administered, the contest was marked by the convergence of the state and the governing party...