OSCE/ODIHR to send expert team to Turkmenistan ahead of parliamentary elections

WARSAW, 19 November 2008 - The OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) announced today it will send an Election Support Team to Turkmenistan ahead of the 14 December parliamentary elections.

The team, lead by Nikolai Vulchanov of Bulgaria, is scheduled to arrive on 7 December and will support the OSCE Centre in Ashgabad in reporting on the election through regular OSCE channels.

Following an invitation from the Turkmen authorities to observe the elections, the OSCE/ODIHR sent a needs assessment mission to Turkmenistan in October to look into preparations for the forthcoming elections and consider possible OSCE/ODIHR election-related activities.

The needs assessment mission recommended sending a small election support team in light of its findings.

The election support team consisting of five election experts will be based in Ashgabad, but will also visit different regions of Turkmenistan. The team will follow the electoral process and assess the impact of recent amendments to Turkmenistan's election legislation.