Federal Assembly Elections, 20 October 2019

Following an invitation from the Government of Switzerland to observe the 20 October 2019 Federal Assembly elections, and in accordance with its mandate, the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) undertook a Needs Assessment Mission (NAM) to Switzerland from 21 to 23 May. The NAM included Ana Rusu, ODIHR Senior Election Adviser, and Radivoje Grujić, ODIHR Election Adviser.

The purpose of the mission was to assess the pre-election environment and the preparations for the Federal Assembly 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 federal and cantonal institutions, as well as representatives of political parties, media, and civil society. A list of meetings is annexed to this report.