The November 30 parliamentary elections were characterized by a wide choice of political alternatives and were generally well administered, international election observers said on December 1. “The elections were held appropriately, while the progress made compared with the previous elections of 2010 is considerable,” stated Jean-Claude Mignon, Head of the delegation of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, IPN reports.
The international election observers said the new electronic system for voter registration marked a positive development, although its introduction faced challenges related to procedures and infrastructure. Arta Dade, Head of the OSCE PA delegation, applauded the efforts of the polling station workers. “The failure for several hours yesterday of the electronic voters register was an unfortunate glitch to an otherwise smoothly run election day,” she stated.
“A largely well-run election offered voters the opportunity to choose their preferred candidates and even geopolitical aspirations, which was at the heart of the campaign,” said Emin Önen, Special Co-ordinator and leader of the short-term OSCE observer mission. He added that the late removal of a highly visible party from the ballot cast a shadow over the final days. Another problem is the lack of transparency as regards the criteria for determining the number of polling place abroad and the imbalance between the number of polling places established in the west and that of places in the east.
Igor Šoltes, Head of the EP delegation welcomed the high voter turnout, despite pessimistic forecasts pointing to increased distrust in the political class. “We took note of the progress that has been made, but also of observed shortcomings. In particular, we stressed the importance of adopting effective legislation on party financing and media freedom and plurality, with a particular emphasis on transparency of media ownership,” he stated
“Within the context of a divided political environment, the elections were competently and professionally administered,” said Ambassador Jan Petersen, Head of the OSCE/ODIHR long-term election observation mission. “Nevertheless, there is still room for improvement, such as with regards to the legal framework, to ensure that future election campaigns create an equitable environment for all contestants.”
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According to the international observers, the complete election monitoring report will be published in two months.
