OSCE holds election observation workshops for Azerbaijan political parties

BAKU, 13 October 2009 - The OSCE Office in Baku started a series of workshops on election observation today to prepare observers for the December municipal elections.

Participants from 14 political parties will be briefed on OSCE election commitments, methodologies and guidelines during the workshops, to be held in Baku and across the country in the coming three weeks.

International best practices in this field and the principle of non-interference in the election process by party observers will be discussed.

"We hope that these workshops will improve the confidence of all political forces in the election process and promote the interaction between them," said Ambassador Bilge Cankorel, the Head of OSCE Office in Baku. "The workshops will also emphasize that observers should only monitor the election process, and not interfere in the process as such."

The OSCE Office in Baku will also conduct training sessions for long-term and short-term non-party observers, who will be trained on observation methodologies based on OSCE democratic election commitments and the Azerbaijan's Election Code. The Office also will support volunteer non-party observers with a hotline and legal counseling on election day.