Parliamentary Elections, 5 July 2009

Following an invitation from the Bulgarian Government and based on the findings and conclusions of a needs assessment mission, ODIHR established a limited election observation mission on 12 June to observe the parliamentary elections on 5 July.

Led by Ambassador Colin Munro, the mission consisted of a nine-member core team based in Sofia and eight long-term observers who were deployed throughout the country on 16 June. The mission members were drawn from 14 OSCE participating States.

According to the mission's final report: "The 5 July 2009 parliamentary elections in the Republic of Bulgaria were generally conducted in accordance with OSCE commitments and Council of Europe standards. While effective checks and balances proved to be in place, concrete measures are required to address persistent problems so as to ensure the integrity of the election process and increase public confidence in future elections.

"The parliamentary elections provided voters a broad choice in a visible and active election campaign demonstrating respect for fundamental freedoms. Nevertheless, late changes to the election system, concerns about the effectiveness of law enforcement and the judiciary, as well as pervasive and persistent allegations of vote-buying, negatively affected the election environment."

On 3 July, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe deployed a 12-member delegation of parliamentarians and support staff that join ODIHR's mission.