Federal Elections, 26 May 2019

Following an invitation from the Government of Belgium to the OSCE Office for DemocraticInstitutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) to observe the 26 May federal parliamentary elections and in accordance with its mandate, ODIHR undertook a Needs Assessment Mission (NAM) to Belgium from 25 to 28 February. The NAM included Ana Rusu, ODIHR Senior Election Adviser, and Alexey Gromov, ODIHR Election Adviser.

The purpose of the NAM was to assess the pre-election environment and preparations for the elections. Based on this assessment, the NAM should recommend whether to deploy an ODIHR election-related activity for the coming elections and, if so, what type of activity best meets the identified needs. Meetings were held with officials from state institutions and the election administration, as well as with representatives of political parties, media, and civil society. A list of meetings is annexed to this report.