Leader of OSCE Observation Mission to U.S. Elections Holds Press Conference in Washington

Leader of OSCE Observation Mission to U.S. Elections Holds Press Conference in Washington

10/6/2004 12:00:00 PM

Contact: Jan Jooren of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), 45-40-41-16-41

News Advisory:

Swiss MP Barbara Haering, who has been appointed by the Chairman-in-Office of the Organization for Security and Co- operation in Europe (OSCE) to lead the OSCE Observation of the Nov. 2 elections in the U.S., will give a press conference on Thursday, Oct. 7 at 4 p.m., at the National Press Club in Washington (Lisagor Room).

Ms. Haering is a Vice-President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the OSCE (OSCE PA) and is in the U.S. from Oct. 6 to 9 for a preliminary visit to prepare for the OSCE Observation Mission. During the press conference Ms. Haering will explain the key elements of the OSCE election observation mission and its purpose.

The two component parts of this OSCE Election Observation Mission are the Parliamentary Assembly of the OSCE, headquartered in Copenhagen, and the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), located in Warsaw.

The Deputy Head of the OSCE Election Observation Mission, appointed by Chairman-in-Office Solomon Passy, is PA Vice- President Giovanni Kessler, who will also be the Head of the OSCE PA Delegation. Kessler is an independent Member of the Italian Parliament.

Professor Rita Sussmuth, appointed by the Director of the OSCE Office of Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), Ambassador Christian Strohal, will be the Head of the ODIHR Team. Ms. Sussmuth is a former Member of the German Parliament.

Both Giovanni Kessler and Sussmuth will participate in the visit to Washington.

Approximately fifty parliamentarians from more then twenty European countries will form the core of the observation mission. The ODIHR will also deploy observers. Parliamentarians will participate in briefings in Washington, Oct. 27 to 29 and will be deployed in various States from Oct. 30 to Nov. 2. Debriefings will take place on Nov. 3. On Nov. 4, Barbara Haering will deliver the post-election statement of the OSCE on the U.S. elections.

For further information please contact OSCE PA Press Councellor Jan Jooren, mobile 45-40-41-16-41.

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The Parliamentary Assembly of the OSCE, created by the CSCE Summit in Paris in 1990, is the parliamentary dimension of the 55- nation Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe. Since 1993 more than 1500 Parliamentarians have observed 63 elections in the OSCE area.