Federal elections, 23 February 2025

In anticipation of an invitation to observe the 23 February 2025 early federal elections, and in accordance with its mandate, the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) undertook a Needs Assessment Mission (NAM) to Berlin from 9 to 11 December 2024. The NAM included Kseniya Dashutsina, ODIHR Senior Election Adviser, and Martina BarkerCiganikova, ODIHR Election Adviser.

The purpose of the mission was to assess the pre-election environment and the preparations for the early elections. Based on this assessment, the NAM recommends whether to deploy an ODIHR election-related activity for the forthcoming elections, and if so, what type of activity best meets the identified needs. Meetings were held with officials from state institutions and the election administration, as well as representatives of political parties, media, civil society and international community. A list of meetings is annexed to this report.