Denmark, General Elections, 15 September 2011: Needs Assessment Mission Report

On 26 August 2011, in accordance with OSCE commitments, the government of Denmark invited the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) to observe the 15 September 2011 general elections. In anticipation of this invitation, OSCE/ODIHR undertook a Needs Assessment Mission (NAM) to Denmark from 24 to 26 August 2011. The NAM included Nicola Schmidt, OSCE/ODIHR Senior Election Adviser, Alexander Shlyk, OSCE/ODIHR Election Adviser, Neil Simon, OSCE PA Director of Communications, and Nathaniel Parry, OSCE PA Editorial Director.

The purpose of the mission was to assess the pre-election environment and the preparations for the elections, and to recommend whether an ODIHR election-related activity would be deployed for the forthcoming elections, and if so, what type of activity would best meet the identified needs. While the NAM was in progress, the election was announced, in line with legal provisions, on a short notice to be held on 15 September. Meetings were held in Copenhagen with officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Interior and Health, the Folketing (the parliament) Committee for Elections, Statistics Denmark, the Press Council, the Danish Institute for Human Rights, as well as with representatives of political parties and the media.