Slovak parliamentary elections in line with international standards

BRATISLAVA, 23 September 2002 - The elections for the Slovak National Council on 20 and 21 September were in compliance with international commitments and standards for the conduct of democratic elections, the international Election Observation Mission deployed by the OSCE's Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) concluded.

"These elections clearly demonstrated the sustainability of democratic development in Slovakia", said Michael Wygant, the head of the OSCE/ODIHR Observation Mission.

In its preliminary statement (attached), the Observation Mission noted that the electoral administration worked efficiently and in an impartial and transparent way at all levels, and enjoyed a high level of popular trust.

The election legislation was amended over the past four years to improve credibility, transparency, and accountability of procedures. Nonetheless, some shortcomings remain: Central Election Commission regulatory instructions should be binding on lower level election commissions; provisions for domestic and international observers should be included, though accreditation to both was granted liberally; and provisions governing the treatment of the electoral campaign by electronic media should be clarified.

With respect to the media situation, the Mission noted that public TV and radio fulfilled their legal obligations and covered the campaign in a balanced way. Private electronic and print media, as a whole, provided a variety of views concerning the campaign. By contrast, Markiza, Slovakia's most popular private television station, lacked fairness in its primetime news coverage, favoring the newly formed ANO party, the leader of which is a major owner of Markiza.

The OSCE/ODIHR Election Observation Mission started monitoring the electoral process on 23 August, with observers deployed to Bratislava, Kosice and Banska Bystrica.