OSCE Parliamentarians gather in Washington for U.S. observation mission

[Sodan]

WASHINGTON, 30 October 2008 – The OSCE Parliamentary Assembly election observation mission to the U.S. elections, led by OSCE PA President Joao Soares (Portugal), gathered in Washington today before deploying during the final weekend of the election campaign to nine different states.
The nine states are: Florida, North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, New Hampshire, Ohio, Missouri, Colorado and New Mexico.
The mission has a total of 98 participants, with 80 parliamentarians plus delegation secretaries and staff from the International Secretariat in Copenhagen. The parliamentarians represent 31 of the 56 OSCE participating States.
Before deployment, the parliamentarians will participate in a full day of briefings on Friday by US election officials, political representatives, journalists, and non-governmental organizations.
The mission’s post-election statement will be made public at a press conference at 10 AM on Thursday, 6 November at the National Press Club in Washington, DC. The statement will be delivered by OSCE PA President Soares.

The OSCE PA started to prepare for the mission to the United States in August, and in September a two-day election seminar was conducted in Washington with almost 50 parliamentarians from 17 countries participating. The preparations have also included intensive research and fact-gathering, including media monitoring.

From 13 to 17 October, OSCE PA Vice President Pia Christmas-Moeller (Denmark), who will serve as deputy head of the observation mission, conducted a pre-election visit to the United States, starting in Florida, going on to Columbus, Ohio, and finishing in Colorado. The trip included a visit to the Barack Obama campaign headquarters in Chicago.

The OSCE PA has monitored elections since 1993 with thousands of parliamentarians participating. It observed the 2004 US Presidential election.

http://www.oscepa.org/home/500-osce-parliamentarians-gather-in-washington-for-us-observation-mission