Presidential Election, 12 and 26 May 2019

Mission at a glance

• Head of Mission: Ambassador Albert Jonsson
• Core team of 5 experts from 5 OSCE participating States, based in Vilnius

Mission schedule

• 30 April:Opening of the mission
• 12 May:Election day
• 16 May:Closing of the mission
• 26 May:Election day (possible second round)
• 27 May:Closing of the mission (possible second round)

Following an invitation from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, based on the findings and conclusions of the ODIHR Needs Assessment Mission undertaken from 28 to 31 January 2019, and in accordance with its mandate, ODIHR has deployed an Election Assessment Mission (EAM) to the 12 May 2019 presidential election in Lithuania.

The ODIHR EAM, headed by Ambassador Albert Jonsson, began its work in Lithuania on 30 April. The EAM includes five international staff, drawn from five 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 with national legislation. Observers will, in particular, look into issues related to the election administration, including accessibility of the electoral process for voters with disabilities and implementation of new cyber security measures, as well as restrictions on candidacy, campaign finance regulations, and proposed media regulations.

In line with ODIHR’s methodology, the 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.

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

Previous Elections

ODIHR has previously observed three parliamentary elections in Lithuania, most recently in 2016.