Parliamentary Elections, 29 September 2013

Following an official invitation from the government of Austria, and based on the findings and conclusions of a Needs Assessment Mission (NAM), the OSCE/ODIHR has deployed an Election Expert Team (EET) for the 29 September parliamentary elections.

ODIHR conducted a NAM from 29 to 30 April 2013 to assess the pre-election environment and the preparations for the 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 expert team.

Mission Activities

The expert team began work on 19 September and includes three international experts, drawn from three OSCE participating States.

The team will assess the 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, look into aspects related to the new legal framework, especially in regard to political party and campaign finance.

In line with ODIHR’s methodology for assessment missions, the team will not carry out systematic or comprehensive observation of the voting, counting and tabulation on election day. Team members will, however, visit a small number of polling stations across the country to follow election day procedures.

The team, which will remain in Austria until 1 October, will issue a report approximately two months after the completion of the election process.

Previous Elections

OSCE/ODIHR has previously assessed the presidential election in Austria in 2010. It has also deployed an expert team to Vienna in connection with the 2009 elections to the European Parliament.