Romania, Parliamentary Elections, 11 December 2016

Following an invitation from the Permanent Mission of Romania to the International Organizations in Vienna to observe the 11 December 2016 parliamentary elections and in accordance with its mandate, the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) undertook a Needs Assessment Mission (NAM) from 27 to 29 September. The NAM included Steven Martin, Senior Adviser on New Voting Technologies, and Ulvi Akhundlu, OSCE/ODIHR Election Adviser.

The purpose of the mission was to assess the pre-election environment and the preparations for the parliamentary elections. Based on this assessment, the NAM should recommend whether to deploy an OSCE/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 and the election administration, as well as with representatives of political parties, civil society, media, and the international community. A list of meetings is annexed to this report.