OSCE/ODIHR sends team of experts to assess French presidential election

WARSAW, 17 April 2007 - The OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) deployed an Election Assessment Mission to France today for the 22 April presidential election, with a likely second round to be conducted on 6 May. The deployment follows an invitation from the French government in line with its OSCE commitments to invite observers. The mission, led by Ms. Loren Wells (Canada), will include 11 election experts.

The purpose of the mission will be to assess and report on the overall framework for the conduct of elections in France with regard to OSCE commitments for holding democratic elections. The experts will meet relevant governmental authorities, candidates, political parties, civil society and the media. Voter registration, the regulatory framework for the conduct of the campaign, and the use of electronic voting systems will be among the issues of interest.

The OSCE/ODIHR does not intend to carry out a systematic or comprehensive observation of the voting, counting and tabulation on election day, but the team of experts does plan to visit several polling stations across the country to follow the procedures.

The OSCE/ODIHR will issue a final report approximately six weeks after the completion of the election process.

The OSCE/ODIHR was present in France for the presidential election in 2002.