Presidential and Early Parliamentary Elections, 13 April and 27 April 2014
Type:
Country:
Mission at a glance
- Head of Mission: Ambassador Geert-Hinrich Ahrens (Germany)
- Core team of 11 staff from 9 participating States
- 20 long-term observers to be deployed throughout the country
- 300 short-term observers to be requested from participating States for each election
Mission schedule
- 10 March: Opening press conference
- 15 March: Deployment of long-term observers
- 9 April: Arrival of short-term observers
- 10 April: Briefing of short-term observers
- 11 April: Deployment of short-term observers
- 13 April: Election day, presidential election
- 14 April: Press conference on preliminary findings and conclusions
- 15 April: Departure of short-term observers
Press Conference (27 April 2014)
Press Conference (13 April 2014)
The mission’s deployment follows an invitation from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to observe the presidential election, and in anticipation of an invitation for the early parliamentary elections. Based on the findings and conclusions of the OSCE/ODIHR EOM for the 2013 municipal elections, the EOM is of a format similar to the one deployed for the previous elections.
The OSCE/ODIHR EOM and the OSCE Mission to Skopje operate separately under their specific mandates.
Long-term observation
The OSCE/ODIHR EOM, headed by Ambassador Geert-Hinrich Ahrens, consists of 11 international experts based in Skopje. In addition, 20 long-term observers will be deployed throughout the country from 15 March.
The mission will assess both elections for their compliance with OSCE commitments and other international standards for democratic elections, as well as with national legislation. Observers will closely monitor candidate registration, voter registration, the work of the election administration and relevant governmental bodies, campaign activities, election-related legislation and its implementation, the media environment and the resolution of election-related disputes.
Election Day
The OSCE/ODIHR will request 300 short-term observers to be deployed immediately prior to the 13 April and 27 April elections. The short-term observers will be deployed throughout the country in multinational teams of two to monitor the opening of polling stations, the voting, the counting of ballots, and the tabulation of results.
The day after each election, ODIHR will issue a statement of preliminary findings and conclusions at a press conference. A final report on the observation of the entire electoral process will be issued approximately eight weeks after the end of the observation mission.
Previous elections
The OSCE/ODIHR has observed thirteen elections in the country, most recently the 2013 municipal elections.