OSCE/ODIHR election report: “May 18th agreement guaranteed freedoms were respected”

“The Statement of Preliminary Findings and Conclusions issued by the IEOM on 26 June concluded that the elections “took place following a political agreement between the leaders of the Socialist arty (SP) and Democratic Party (DP) that secured the participation of the opposition. Electoral contestants were able to campaign freely and fundamental freedoms were respected”, the report says.

The OSCE also notes that the May 18th political agreement created challenges for the electoral administration, which resulted with CEC to rely on the agreement more than on the law regarding their decisions.

However, the OSCE notes the problems that emerged. “The continued politicisation of election related bodies and institutions as well as widespread allegations of vote-buying and pressure on voters detracted from public trust in the electoral process. On an overall orderly election day, important procedures were not fully respected in a considerable number of voting centres observed. There were delays in counting in many areas”, the report says.

“The CEC registered 15 political parties within the legal deadline and, following the 18 May political agreement, 3 additional opposition parties were registered. At the same time, two other prospective contestants were denied registration due to late nomination. While largely inclusive, the candidate registration process suffered from selective and inconsistent application of the law and was, at times, based on the political agreement rather than the law”, OSCE notes among other issues.

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