Early Parliamentary Elections, 12 September 2012
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Mission at a glance
- Head of Mission: Ambassador Lubomir Kopaj (Slovakia)
- Four core team experts from four participating States, based in The Hague
Mission schedule
- 30 August: Opening of the mission
- 12 September: Election day
- 15 September: Closing of the mission
Following an official invitation from the Permanent Delegation of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to the OSCE, ODIHR deployed an Election Assessment Mission (EAM) for the 12 September 2012 early parliamentary elections.
ODIHR conducted a NAM from 20 to 22 June 2012 to assess the pre-election environment and the preparations for the early parliamentary elections and in order to recommend whether to deploy an OSCE/ODIHR election-related activity for the forthcoming election, and if so, what type of activity best meets the identified needs. The NAM recommended the deployment of an assessment mission.
Observation Activities
The mission, headed by Ambassador Lubomir Kopaj, began work on 30 August. The EAM includes four international staff, drawn from four OSCE participating States.
The mission will assess the entire election process in terms of its compliance with OSCE commitments and international standards for democratic elections, as well as national legislation. Observers will, in particular, assess the use of proxy voting, elements of the campaign finance regime, and certain limitations on complaints and appeals during some parts of the electoral process.
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 the Netherlands until 15 September, will issue a report approximately two months after the completion of the election process.
Previous Elections
The OSCE/ODIHR has assessed two elections in the Netherlands: the early parliamentary Elections from 2010 and the parliamentary elections from 2006. The EAM for the 2010 early parliamentary elections concluded that “the elections to the lower House of Parliament were conducted in the context of a high level of confidence in the election administration. The pluralistic political and electoral system provided voters with a broad choice among diverse political options. Overall, the largely unregulated campaign and media environment gave political parties ample opportunity to communicate their views to voters.”