Presidential Election, 6 November 2016

In anticipation of an official invitation to observe the upcoming presidential election to be held in 2016 and in accordance with its mandate, the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (OSCE/ODIHR) undertook a Needs Assessment Mission (NAM) to Bulgaria from 31 May to 3 June. The NAM included Lusine Badalyan, OSCE/ODIHR Senior Election Adviser, and Oleksii Lychkovakh, OSCE/ODIHR Election Adviser.

The purpose of the mission was to assess the pre-election environment and the preparations for the presidential election. Based on this assessment, the NAM should recommend whether to deploy an OSCE/ODIHR election-related activity for the forthcoming election, and if so, what type of activity best meets the identified needs. Meetings were held with officials from state institutions and the election administration, as well as with representatives of political parties, media and civil society. A list of meetings is annexed to this report.