Parliamentary Elections, 6 October 2019

Following an official invitation to observe the 6 October parliamentary elections in Portugal, and in accordance with its mandate, the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) undertook a Needs Assessment Mission (NAM) from 3 to 5 June 2019. The NAM included Alexander Shlyk, Head of the ODIHR Election Department, and Keara Castaldo, ODIHR Election Adviser.

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