OSCE to begin election observation in Serbia

WARSAW, 28 August 1997 - The OSCE will send up to 40 long-term election observers to monitor the election campaign for the 21 September presidential and parliamentary elections in Serbia. An advance team, headed by Mr. Anthony Welch, is in Belgrade to prepare the ground for the long-term observers, who are expected to arrive early next week.

A team of about 150 OSCE short-term observers will be deployed throughout Serbia to cover election day. The OSCE Parliamentary Assembly is also planning to send a delegation of parliamentarians to observe the elections.

In their final report, the OSCE election observers will take into account the various stages of the election cycle, from the campaign to the final voting and counting stages, the public declaration of results to the instalment in office of those elected.