Election Observation by the European Parliament in the OSCE Area

Tutkimus 01-03-2010

This report reviews the role of the European Parliament (EP) in observing elections as a means of assessing democratic development in neighbourhood countries that are also participating States of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), i.e. all Candidate and potential Candidate countries and EU Eastern Partnership countries. The EU has acknowledged that the lead on observing elections in these countries is taken by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) whose long-term missions are often joined by short-term delegations from the EP and other parliamentary bodies to form International Election Observation Missions (IEOMs). The report assesses the framework in which IEOMs operate and the observational methodologies employed by these different institutions. It includes a focus on challenges faced by IEOMs (including criticisms of the role played by ODIHR) to present a common international assessment of an electoral process that is important for establishing EU policy towards these neighbourhood countries. The report also identifies ways in which the EP can take measures to strengthen the effectiveness of IEOMs and to improve its framework for undertaking election observation.