OSCE/ODIHR ESTABLISHES ELECTORAL MONITORING MISSION FOR CROATIA

ZAGREB, Nov 23 (Hina) - The Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (OSCE/ODIHR) on Tuesday said in a statement it had established the Electoral Monitoring Mission, headed by ODIHR electoral adviser Nikolaj Vulcanov, which will monitor the impending parliamentary elections in Croatia. The statement says the Mission will operate separately from and independently of the OSCE Mission to Croatia, which is headed by Ambassador Bernard Poncet and which will continue performing its regular activities in keeping with its mandate. The Electoral Monitoring Mission will evaluate if the electoral process in Croatia is compliant with obligations envisaged in OSCE's 1990 Copenhagen Document, as well as with relevant Croatian laws. Monitors will be deployed throughout Croatia. The Mission will keep in touch with political parties, state and local authorities, electoral commissions at all levels, non-governmental organisations, representatives of the media, and diplomatic missions. The Mission will monitor the electoral campaign, equality in media coverage, electoral administration, and other aspects of the elections, the statement says. Another 200 international monitors will come to Croatia immediately before the elections. Among them will be parliamentarians who will monitor the voting, the counting of votes, the submission of results from polling stations, and the table presentation of the voting at all levels. The day after the elections, the Electoral Monitoring Mission will release a preliminary statement with its main conclusions. The ODIHR will release a final statement one month later. (hina) ha