International observers avoid saying whether or not the elections were free and fair

The electoral process is too complex to be labelled in a certain manner. The positive aspects of these elections, as well as their shortcomings should be carefully weighted, Dieter Boden, head of the OSCE/ODHIR observation mission told a press conference on Monday, June 4, when asked to comment whether or not the elections were free and fair. Generally speaking, the elections were well administered and the voters were given a genuine choice, but there are some shortcomings concerning the handling of the polls. A number of aspects of the electoral process fell short of some international commitments on democratic elections, said the European official, mentioning in this respect that "there were a number of cases throughout the country where candidates faced pressure or dismissal or suspension from their jobs as a result of their political activities." Furthermore, there were some problems in the field of media. The mission also expressed concern about cases where local authorities failed to guarantee equal conditions for all parties and candidates. Boden expressed his hope that these shortcomings will be handled in the second round of voting. The head of the observation mission of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of Europe, Susan Bolam, referred to a number of deficiencies observed on election day, mentioning that some of the polling stations were poorly administrated, while in at least 25% of the poling places the ballot count was not made according to the legal provisions. Bolam says that CLRAE will make recommendations after the elections and hopes that they will be carefully examined by the authorities. The local general elections of June 3 were monitored by about two thousand observers, 200 of whom were international poll-watchers.