Parliamentary elections concluded in Slovakia

WARSAW, 5 October 1998 - The Chairman-in-Office of the OSCE, Polish Foreign Minister Bronislaw Geremek, welcomes the fact that the Parliamentary Election held in the Slovak Republic on September 25-26 has been successfully concluded and that all parties have accepted the results. It was positive that Slovakia issued a formal invitation to the OSCE to observe the election, and that participating States contributed observers to an effective and thorough OSCE Election Observation Mission.

It is the sincere hope of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office that this election will strengthen the foundation for a stable parliamentary democracy in Slovakia. It is further hoped that Slovakia's integration into the European mainstream will now intensify, and that barriers to this process may be removed.

The OSCE Chairman-in-Office would like to encourage Slovakia to improve upon those aspects of the process that caused concern leading up to this election and implement OSCE standards accordingly in the future. The upcoming Municipal Elections will provide another opportunity to reaffirm its commitment to holding democratic elections.