In response to an invitation from the Delegation of the Kingdom of Belgium, ODIHR deployed an election assessment mission on 3 June for the parliamentary elections on 10 June.

Led by Ambassador Lubomir Kopaj of Slovakia, the mission consisted of 10 election experts from 10 OSCE participating States.

According to the mission's final report: "The election campaign was visible, although without dominating public life. The Belgian legislation on campaigning and party financing is relatively restrictive. As a rule, political parties largely rely on distributing flyers, the presence of candidates in public places, rallies with party supporters, billboards and coverage by the media. The media are dynamic and pluralistic, and provided broad coverage on election issues.

"The legal framework provides a sound basis for democratic elections. It is in some aspects advantageous to established parties, but this has not hindered new parties from emerging in the last decades, contributing to an already heterogeneous political landscape. There is no specific law on political parties, but restrictions are placed on parties which convey ideologies and platforms deemed xenophobic, racist or discriminatory. These restrictions have led to court appeals in a number of cases.

"The elections were administered by the election administration in an efficient and professional manner. Most poll workers are first-time voters, positively engaging young people in the election process, but more training may be desirable."

Election assessment team

Lubomir Kopaj (Slovakia): Head of Mission
Paul DeGregorio (USA): Election Analyst
Jordi Barrat (Spain): E-voting Analyst
Michael Meyer (Germany): Legal Analyst
Giovana Maiola (Italy): Media Analyst
Taskyn Rakhilbekova (Kazakhstan): Election Analyst
Jeno Szep (Hungary): E-voting Analyst
Oerd Bylykbashi (Albania): Election Analyst
Gilles Saphy (France): ODIHR Election Adviser
Igor Popov (Ukraine): Election Analyst