Presidential election, 23 April; Parliamentary elections, 11 June 2017

Following an invitation from the Permanent Representation of France to the OSCE to observe the 2017 presidential and parliamentary elections and in accordance with its mandate, the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (OSCE/ODIHR) undertook a Needs Assessment Mission (NAM) from 13 to 15 March. The NAM included Steven Martin, OSCE/ODIHR Senior Adviser on New Voting Technologies, and Ulvi Akhundlu, OSCE/ODIHR Election Adviser.

The purpose of the mission was to assess the pre-election environment and preparations for the upcoming presidential and parliamentary elections. Based on this assessment, the NAM should recommend whether to deploy an OSCE/ODIHR election-related activity for either or both forthcoming elections, and if so, what types of activities best meet the identified needs. Meetings were held with officials from state institutions as well as with representatives of political parties, media, and civil society.