The OSCE would send more than 200 inspectors to the Hungarian elections
The Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) recommends sending a full election observation mission to the Hungarian parliamentary elections on 3 April.
In a recommendation published on Friday night, the ODIHR recommends sending 18 observers “Initiates weeks of national monitoring of the electoral process and the deployment of 200 inspectors to monitor the voting process” Népszava announced.
Hungary is the second EU member state where the international organization considers a full and unrestricted election observation mission to be the first to propose a similar one to Bulgaria, recalls the left.
The mission in Bulgaria failed because the OSCE participating States were unable to deploy a sufficient number of observers to carry out the mission.
The ODIHR’s recommendation is based on the report of a delegation of experts, which will be held from 17 to 21 January. He visited Hungary in 2006 to assess the needs, Népszava reports. The members of the delegation also met with several governmental and non-governmental actors, they write. The report attached to the recommendation states: “Following their discussions, it is particularly important to examine how the amended electoral law, voter registration, election administration, campaigning, including voter intimidation and vote buying, and media coverage of elections work in practice. they also consider it necessary to monitor the transparency of campaign funding and the effectiveness of the complaints and appeals process. In their view, it is also appropriate to study the impact of holding a referendum at the same time on these aspects.”Népszava quotes the report.
Several important elections will be held in Europe in April, including in Serbia and France, so it is likely that a limited mission will eventually be achieved.
– those familiar with the operation of the organization told Népszava.
In mid-January, 62 MEPs wrote a letter to the director of the ODIHR requesting that the organization send a full-fledged mission to Hungary for the elections. Politicians justified the need for this by saying “Voting will not be conducted at the appropriate level of democratic standards.” In addition to them, 20 Hungarian NGOs sent similar requests to international organizations.
Photo: Sergei GAPON / AFP