Parliamentary Elections, 9 March 2013

Following an official invitation from the Permanent Mission of Malta to the OSCE to observe the upcoming parliamentary elections scheduled for 9 March 2013, based on the findings and conclusions of the Needs Assessment Mission deployed from 15 to 17 January 2013, and in accordance with its mandate, the OSCE/ODIHR has deployed an Election Assessment Mission (EAM) for these elections. The EAM is planning to commence its activities in Malta on 26 February 2013.

Observation Activities

The mission, headed by Nikolai Vulchanov, began work on 26 February. The EAM includes five international staff, drawn from five OSCE participating States.

The mission will assess the entire election process in terms of its compliance with OSCE commitments and other international standards for democratic elections, as well as national legislation. Observers will, in particular, assess the implementation of regulations on party funding and campaign finance, effectiveness of legal redress, and access to media by political parties.

In line with ODIHR’s methodology for assessment missions, the mission will not carry out systematic or comprehensive observation of the voting, counting and tabulation on election day. Mission members will, however, visit a small number of polling stations across the country to follow election day procedures.

The mission, which will remain in Malta until 12 March, will issue a final report approximately two months after the completion of the election process.

Previous Elections

The OSCE/ODIHR has not previously observed or assessed elections in Malta, although it did visit the country in the context of the June 2009 elections to the European Parliament.