Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights

Parliamentary Elections, 14 September 2009

In response to an invitation from the Permanent Mission of Norway to the OSCE, and based on the recommendation of a needs assessment mission, ODIHR deployed an election assessment mission from 2 to 16 September.

It was led by Ambassador Geert Ahrens of Germany and consisted of nine election experts from as many OSCE participating States.

According to the mission's final report: "Norway has a long tradition of holding democratic elections, and the conduct of the 14 September elections confirmed that Norwegian elections are characterized by political pluralism, respect for fundamental freedoms and rights, a high degree of public trust in the impartiality of the election administration, and the integrity of the process as a whole. The authorities have displayed a particular responsiveness to remedy existing weaknesses in the electoral process and improve it further."