At OSCE Parliamentary Assembly Winter Meeting, ODIHR Director stresses importance of joint observation efforts for local elections in Ukraine’s east

VIENNA, 19 February 2015 –Michael Georg Link, Director of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), in an address today to the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly (OSCE PA) annual Winter Meeting, stressed the importance of an effective, co-operative effort in observing local elections agreed for the Donetsk and Luhansk regions in Ukraine.

“The agreement reached in Minsk foresees the observation of these elections to ensure they are in line with OSCE standards and Ukrainian legislation as an important part of helping resolve the conflict,” Link said. “A broad international effort in observing the elections will make this more effective, and it is my hope that the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly will join our planned observation by sending parliamentarians as short-term observers.”

While making it clear that the necessary security environment and guarantees would have to be in place before his Office could commit to sending observers, the ODIHR Director said that preliminary planning for such a mission was already underway. He added that, although OSCE PA observation efforts have traditionally focused on parliamentary elections, the observation in Ukraine’s east would benefit substantially from their participation.