Early parliamentary elections, 15 October 2017

Following an invitation from the Austrian Federal Ministry for Europe, Integration, and Foreign Affairs and based on the findings and conclusions of the OSCE/ODIHR Needs Assessment Mission, undertaken from 23 to 25 August 2017, the OSCE/ODIHR has deployed an Election Assessment Mission (EAM) to the 15 October 2017 early parliamentary elections.

The OSCE/ODIHR EAM, headed by Mr. Peter Eicher, began its work in Austria on 29 September. The EAM includes six international staff, drawn from six OSCE participating States. The mission will assess the electoral process in terms of its compliance with OSCE commitments and other international obligations and standards for democratic elections, as well as national legislation. Observers will, in particular, look into issues related to implementation of recently revised electoral laws and regulations, as well as specific aspects of campaign finance, election administration, candidate registration, and the complaints and appeals process.

In line with OSCE/ODIHR methodology, the OSCE/ODIHR EAM 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 on election day.

A final report will be issued approximately eight weeks after the end of the electoral process.

Previous Elections

The OSCE/ODIHR has previously assessed the 2010 presidential election, as well as the 2013 parliamentary and repeat second round of 2016 presidential elections in Austria.