In the framework of election observation, ODIHR co-operates with a number of international parliamentary and other bodies in the OSCE region.

These are the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly (OSCE PA), as well as, in most instances, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), the European Parliament (EP) and, on occasion, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization Parliamentary Assembly (NATO PA) and/or the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of Europe.

OSCE Parliamentary Assembly

ODIHR and the OSCE PA enjoy a specific form of co-operation in the area of election observation, based on a Co-operation Agreement signed by the OSCE Chairman-in-Office and the President of the OSCE PA in 1997.

While ODIHR is responsible for long-term election observation missions, incorporating all aspects of the election process, it joins efforts with the OSCE PA during short-term election day observation where the OSCE PA is present. On the basis of the Co-operation Agreement, the OSCE Chairman-in-Office regularly designates a political figure as a special co-ordinator to lead short-term OSCE observer missions.