News and press releases

The 2024 European Parliament elections were genuinely competitive, with fundamental freedoms respected. The elections were run professionally and effectively, and the bodies administering them enjoyed a high level of confidence. Aspects of electoral legislation needing further review related primarily to insufficient efforts to involve under-represented groups to form a fully inclusive parliament, differences in voting and candidacy rights across Member States that created unequal conditions for universal suffrage, disinformation and instances of political violence and threats during the campaign both against politicians and journalists, an absence of provisions allowing both citizen and international observers to access the process, and limited transparency and scope of campaign finance regulations.

Croatia’s 2024 early parliamentary elections were competitive, offering voters a broad range of political choices. The legal framework generally provided a sound basis for holding democratic elections, and the election administration enjoyed full confidence in managing all stages of the process. While the media landscape is diverse, concerns remain about the concentration of media ownership and the political affiliation of many media outlets, including the public broadcaster, as well as the high volume of pending litigation against journalists.

Representatives of more than 30 international election observation organizations from around the world, which have committed to upholding the highest methodological standards and ethical practices, concluded a three-day meeting today in Gdansk, Poland, hosted by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR).

Election experts from the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) presented the final report and recommendations of the observation mission to the June local elections in Serbia during a visit to Belgrade from 23 to 26 September 2024.

WASHINGTON D.C., 6 November 2024 – Engagement was high across the political spectrum in yesterday’s US elections that underscored the resilience of the country’s democratic institutions. The presidential vote was highly competitive, but the campaign was marked by deep polarization and harsh and confrontational rhetoric, while public trust was undermined by disinformation campaigns and political violence, international observers said in a statement today.

CHISINAU, 4 November 2024 – The 3 November second round of Moldova’s presidential election was administered efficiently and professionally, and offered voters a choice between genuine political alternatives, international observers said in a statement of preliminary findings and conclusions today. Candidates were able to campaign freely, but the quiet, ten-day campaign was marked by an increase in negative rhetoric from across the political spectrum targeting both contestants, often spread through online social networks. The challenges posed by foreign interference and vote-buying continued to reverberate during the run-off campaign, the statement says.

TASHKENT, 28 October 2024 – Uzbekistan’s 27 October parliamentary elections took place amid ongoing reforms, including amendments to the Constitution, but the political environment remained constrained, not providing voters with a genuine choice, international observers said in a preliminary statement released today. Despite the ongoing reforms, fundamental freedoms remain disproportionally limited both by legislation and in practice, the statement says.