Parliamentary Elections, 14 September 2009

In response to an invitation from the Permanent Mission of Norway to the OSCE, and based on the recommendation of a needs assessment mission, ODIHR deployed an election assessment mission from 2 to 16 September.

It was led by Ambassador Geert Ahrens of Germany and consisted of nine election experts from as many OSCE participating States.

According to the mission's final report: "Norway has a long tradition of holding democratic elections, and the conduct of the 14 September elections confirmed that Norwegian elections are characterized by political pluralism, respect for fundamental freedoms and rights, a high degree of public trust in the impartiality of the election administration, and the integrity of the process as a whole. The authorities have displayed a particular responsiveness to remedy existing weaknesses in the electoral process and improve it further."