Spain, Early Parliamentary Elections, 20 November 2011: Needs Assessment Mission Report

On 27 September, the Permanent Mission of Spain to the OSCE invited the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (OSCE/ODIHR) to observe the 20 November early parliamentary elections. The OSCE/ODIHR undertook a Needs Assessment Mission (NAM) to Spain from 10 to 13 October 2011. The OSCE/ODIHR NAM included Beata Martin-Rozumilowicz, Head of the OSCE/ODIHR Election Department, Armin Rabitsch, an OSCE/ODIHR Senior Election Adviser, and Lusine Badalyan, an OSCE/ODIHR Election Adviser.

The purpose of the mission was to assess the pre-election environment and the preparations for the early parliamentary elections. Based on this assessment, the NAM was to recommend whether to deploy an OSCE/ODIHR election-related activity for the forthcoming elections, and if so, what type of activity best meets the identified needs. Meetings were held with officials from state institutions, the election administration, and the judiciary, as well as with representatives of political parties and media.