OSCE/ODIHR opens assessment mission for UK elections

WARSAW, 26 April 2010 - The OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) today opened an election assessment mission for the general elections to be held in the United Kingdom on 6 May.

The mission's deployment, which was delayed for several days due to flight cancellations caused by the volcanic ash cloud, follows an invitation from the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office. As a participating State of the OSCE, the United Kingdom has committed itself to inviting ODIHR to observe its elections.

The mission is led by Jean-Pierre Kingsley, and consists of 10 international elections experts from eight OSCE participating States.

The experts will assess and report on the overall framework for the conduct of the election. They will focus on the legal framework for the election, voter registration and postal voting arrangements, the implementation of newly introduced provisions on election observation, as well as campaign financing and the complaints and appeals process.

As part of the assessment process, the experts will meet with relevant governmental authorities, candidates, political parties, the judiciary, civil society, and the media.

ODIHR will not carry out systematic or comprehensive observation of the voting, counting, or tabulation on election day, but the experts plan to visit a limited number of polling stations across the country to follow procedures.

A final report will be issued about two months after the completion of the election process.

ODIHR previously assessed the 2005 general elections in the United Kingdom, as well as the elections for the devolved administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland in 2003.