Former Speaker of German parliament to head election observation mission to Russia
Professor Rita Süssmuth (right), former speaker of the German Bundestag, will head the OSCE/ODIHR international election observation mission to the Russian Federation. (OSCE) Photo details
WARSAW, 7 October 2003 - The OSCE's Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) has appointed Professor Rita Süssmuth, former President of the German parliament, to head the OSCE/ODIHR international election observation mission to the State Duma elections in the Russian Federation scheduled for 7 December.
Professor Süssmuth will join an OSCE/ODIHR needs assessment mission to Russia, which will be conducted between 8 and 10 October. The purpose of this mission is to make a preliminary assessment of election-related issues and to determine the scale of the eventual election observation mission.
As part of this assessment, the mission will meet members of the Russian Central Election Commission and representatives of political parties, the media, civic groups, and the diplomatic community.
In line with its mandate, the ODIHR observes elections before, during and after election day. Professor Süssmuth will head a mission of some 50 long-term observers who will be deployed throughout the Russian Federation in early November. These long-term observers will follow the administrative preparations for the elections, the campaign and the conduct as well as equal access to the media.
Shortly before election day, the Observation Mission will be joined by several hundred international short-term election observers, including representatives of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly (PA) and other parliamentary delegations. They will observe the voting and counting process on election day.
Professor Süssmuth, after serving as President of the Bundestag from 1988 through 1998, has been very active in the fields of population and migration. She was the Chairperson of the Commission on International Population Issues of the German Society for the United Nations and the Chairperson of a German governmental commission on migration. In 2000, she was Vice-President of the German delegation to the OSCE PA.
The ODIHR is the leading agency in Europe in the field of election observation. It has monitored a number of elections in the Russian Federation, including the 1996 and 2000 presidential elections and the 1999 elections to the State Duma.
Professor Süssmuth will join an OSCE/ODIHR needs assessment mission to Russia, which will be conducted between 8 and 10 October. The purpose of this mission is to make a preliminary assessment of election-related issues and to determine the scale of the eventual election observation mission.
As part of this assessment, the mission will meet members of the Russian Central Election Commission and representatives of political parties, the media, civic groups, and the diplomatic community.
In line with its mandate, the ODIHR observes elections before, during and after election day. Professor Süssmuth will head a mission of some 50 long-term observers who will be deployed throughout the Russian Federation in early November. These long-term observers will follow the administrative preparations for the elections, the campaign and the conduct as well as equal access to the media.
Shortly before election day, the Observation Mission will be joined by several hundred international short-term election observers, including representatives of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly (PA) and other parliamentary delegations. They will observe the voting and counting process on election day.
Professor Süssmuth, after serving as President of the Bundestag from 1988 through 1998, has been very active in the fields of population and migration. She was the Chairperson of the Commission on International Population Issues of the German Society for the United Nations and the Chairperson of a German governmental commission on migration. In 2000, she was Vice-President of the German delegation to the OSCE PA.
The ODIHR is the leading agency in Europe in the field of election observation. It has monitored a number of elections in the Russian Federation, including the 1996 and 2000 presidential elections and the 1999 elections to the State Duma.