More OSCE observers to monitors presidential elections in Moldova

Chisinau, 24 October /MOLDPRES/ - The OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) today officially launched a mission to observe the parliamentary elections in Moldova on 30 November.

The mission will be composed of 11 Chisinau-based experts and 22 long-term observers who will be deployed throughout the country. At the same time, shortly before 30 November, 200 short-term observers will arrive in Moldova and will monitor the Election Day activities.

Head of Mission, Ambassador Jan Petersen today at a press conference said that the mission would assess the election process to be sure that it was conducted in line with OSCE commitments, international standards and national legislation. "Our role is to observe the conduct of the elections and not interfere in any way. We are neither electoral officers nor election supervisors. We are not interested in the election results, but in the fact that these elections take place in a transparent manner", said the head of the mission.

The observers will monitor the voting procedures, count ballots and carry out the tabulation of the results on Election Day. The second day after the election, the mission will publish preliminary conclusions on the conduct of elections. A final report on the observation of the entire electoral process will be presented two months after the election.

The mission will be in Moldova until mid-December. This is the 11th time that OSCE deploys election observation missions to Moldova.