Presidential Election, 10 May 2015, and Parliamentary Elections, October 2015

Following an invitation from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Poland to observe the 10 May 2015 presidential election, in view of the upcoming parliamentary elections later this year, and in accordance with its mandate, the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (OSCE/ODIHR) undertook a Needs Assessment Mission (NAM) from 9 to 12 March. The NAM included Mr. Steven Martin, OSCE/ODIHR Senior Adviser on New Voting Technologies, and Mr. Alexander Shlyk, OSCE/ODIHR Election Adviser.

The purpose of the mission was to assess the pre-election environment and the preparations for the 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 and the election administration, as well as with representatives of political parties, media, and civil society.