OSCE elections body to assess parliamentary elections in Spain

WARSAW/MADRID, 26 February 2008 - The OSCE's Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) today deployed an Election Assessment Mission to Spain for the parliamentary elections on 9 March.

The deployment followed an invitation from the Spanish authorities.

The mission, led by Vadim Zhdanovich from the Russian Federation, includes ten election experts from nine OSCE participating States.

The purpose of the mission is to assess and report on the overall framework for the conduct of elections in Spain with regard to OSCE commitments for holding democratic elections.

The observers will be based in Madrid, Barcelona, Bilbao and Sevilla, and will meet with relevant government authorities, election administration on the national and provincial levels, as well as with candidates, political parties, civil society, and the media to discuss election related issues. The report of the mission will be published 2-3 months following the completion of the election process.

The mission will not conduct a comprehensive observation on election day, but will visit several polling stations across the country to assess the vote counting and tabulation procedures.

The ODIHR previously assessed the 2004 parliamentary elections in Spain.