ODIHR to assess parliamentary elections in Italy

WARSAW, 13 March 2006 - The OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, ODIHR, has deployed an expert assessment mission for the 9 and 10 April parliamentary elections in Italy.

This follows an invitation from the Italian Foreign Ministry, which is based on recently adopted legislation and has made the observation by OSCE/ODIHR possible for these elections.

A team of election experts from nine OSCE countries, led by Peter Eicher (USA), will assess the implementation of a new election system, introduced last December.

The assessment mission will also monitor media coverage of the election by major public and private broadcast networks, analyze the legal framework for the election, the political campaign, the work of the election administration at central and regional levels, as well as the complaints and appeals process.

No systematic election day observation of polling station procedures is envisaged. A final report with findings and recommendations will be issued approximately 6 weeks after the elections.