KYIV – The Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) on September 9 formally opened an election observation mission for the October 25 local elections in Ukraine. The mission’s deployment follows an official invitation from the Ukrainian authorities.
The mission is led by Tana de Zulueta and consists of a core team of 16 experts based in Kyiv and 100 long-term observers to be deployed in teams of two. In addition, ODIHR will request 600 short-term observers to monitor proceedings on election day.
The mission will observe the election for their compliance with OSCE commitments, other international obligations and standards for democratic elections, as well as with national legislation. Observers will closely monitor the candidate and voter registration process, campaign activities, the work of the election administration and relevant governmental bodies, election-related legislation and its implementation, and the resolution of election-related disputes. As part of the observation, the mission will also monitor the media coverage of the campaign.
In the course of its observation, the mission will meet with representatives from state authorities and individual candidates, and with representatives from civil society, the media and the international community.
On election day, observers will monitor the opening of polling stations, voting, the counting of ballots and the tabulation of results.
A statement of preliminary findings and conclusions will be issued on the day after the election. A final report on the observation of the entire election process will be published approximately two months after the completion of the election process.