ZAGREB, Jan 3 (Hina) - In Croatia there are between three and four hundred international monitors who are actually parliamentarians from various European countries, said the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly Chairwoman Helle Degn in Zagreb
on Monday. Degn, who is also the head of all foreign monitoring missions at the Croatian parliamentary election, announced a final news conference of those missions for Tuesday at which they should release their assessments of the course of voting in Croatia. After her brief conversation with Croatia's acting President Vlatko Pavletic, on Monday morning at the polling station where he cast his ballot, Degn said that on Monday (the day of election) she would not give statements for media explaining that foreign observers should be fair because OSCE and Council of Europe monitors were invited by Croatia itself. There are up to 400 hundred foreign monitors and som
ZAGREB, Jan 3 (Hina) - In Croatia there are between three and four
hundred international monitors who are actually parliamentarians
from various European countries, said the OSCE Parliamentary
Assembly Chairwoman Helle Degn in Zagreb on Monday.
Degn, who is also the head of all foreign monitoring missions at the
Croatian parliamentary election, announced a final news conference
of those missions for Tuesday at which they should release their
assessments of the course of voting in Croatia.
After her brief conversation with Croatia's acting President
Vlatko Pavletic, on Monday morning at the polling station where he
cast his ballot, Degn said that on Monday (the day of election) she
would not give statements for media explaining that foreign
observers should be fair because OSCE and Council of Europe
monitors were invited by Croatia itself.
There are up to 400 hundred foreign monitors and some of then have
been staying in Croatia for six weeks and in that period they
observed the electioneering.
The OSCE (Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe) has
been represented by 31 experienced politicians from parliaments of
Denmark, Sweden, Norway and other countries, Degn added.
On Sunday foreign monitors obtained final information on the course
of campaigning and on it whether it was fair or not, which tricks had
been used and under which legal framework the electioneering had
been conducted.
On Monday all foreign observers are on the ground, along with
numerous Croatian monitors, she said.
Thanks to multiparty composition of those who are monitoring
elections, you have taken over responsibility for democratisation
of your country and you should be very proud of it, said this Danish
parliamentarian.
She viewed the possibility of non-governmental organisations'
representatives to have access to polling stations as a positive
fact.
Degn announced that in the course of this day foreign monitors would
try to gather some assessments of the course of voting, and they
would give their final comments on Tuesday afternoon after they
hold a joint session of OSCE and Council of Europe representatives.
A final report will also include an assessment of the European Media
Institute on the media coverage of the electioneering in Croatia.
(hina) ms