VIENNA, 11 July 2012 – Representatives from the 56 OSCE participating States, civil society and international organizations will meet in Vienna tomorrow for a two-day conference on democratic elections and election observation.
The meeting, organized jointly by the Irish 2012 OSCE Chairmanship and the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), will focus on commitments for the conduct of democratic elections, evolving good practice and ways to utilize election observation in better responding to identified needs and challenges.
The keynote speaker at the meeting will be Radmila Šekerinska, a Member of Parliament in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and the former Deputy Prime Minister for European Integration.
Ambassador Eoin O'Leary, the Chairperson of the OSCE Permanent Council and Ireland's Permanent Representative to the OSCE, and Ambassador Janez Lenarčič, the ODIHR Director, will make opening remarks.
Journalists are invited to attend the opening session of the conference from 15:00 to 16:00 on 12 July in the Neuer Saal of the Hofburg Congress Centre.
Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe