Our mandate on elections

In the 1990 Copenhagen Document, the participating States spelled out unequivocally their commitment to elections, by stating that “the will of the people, freely and fairly expressed through periodic and genuine elections, is the basis of the authority and legitimacy of all government”. The Document also clearly provides for the presence of observers, both foreign and domestic, to “enhance the electoral process for States in which elections are taking place” and “invite observers from any other CSCECSCE
Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe participating States and any appropriate private institutions and organizations who may wish to do so to observe the course of their national election proceedings“.

During the move in the early 1990s to institutionalize the CSCE, in particular, at the 1990 Paris Summit meeting of Heads of State or Government, the participating States decided to establish an Office for Free Elections in Warsaw. Its function at the time was fairly limited and included mainly “to facilitate contacts and the exchange of information on elections within participating States”. Its work was to compile information on elections and election observations, facilitate contact among governments and other stakeholders, and organize seminars on election procedures and democratic institutions.

The 1992 Ministerial Council meeting in Prague considerably expanded the functions of the Office for Free Elections, transforming it into the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights. Among other issues, the ministers tasked the Office to “serve as an institutional framework for sharing and exchanging information on available technical assistance, expertise, and national and international programmes aimed at assisting the new democracies in their institution-building“.

In the following years, a plethora of additional commitments were added to the original set, providing the OSCE with a comprehensive framework on elections as democratic practice and election observation. The Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights put together an inventory of these commitments and principles in 2003.