OSCE to assess parliamentary poll in Poland

WARSAW, 9 October 2007 - The OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, OSCE/ODIHR, has deployed an election assessment mission to Poland for the October 2007 pre-term parliamentary elections, following an invitation from the Polish authorities.

The mission, led by Julian Peel Yates from the United Kingdom, includes 11 experts from nine OSCE countries.

"In the last few years, the ODIHR has had an opportunity to observe elections in a broader range of countries than before, including recent election assessment missions to France, Ireland, Estonia and Turkey. We are pleased to be invited to assess the election process here in ODIHR's host country, Poland," said Peel Yates.

The mission will assess and report on the overall framework for elections in Poland with regard to OSCE commitments for holding democratic elections. The experts will meet with government authorities, candidates, the judiciary, political parties, civil society and the media.

The OSCE/ODIHR does not intend to carry out a systematic or comprehensive observation of the voting, counting and tabulation on election day, but the experts plan to visit polling stations across the country to follow procedures.

The OSCE/ODIHR will issue a final report approximately two months after the completion of the election process.