OSCE assesses possible need for election monitors in Finland

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The Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe is looking into the possibility of sending election observers to monitor the Finnish Parliamentary elections in March.
      Two OSCE representatives are currently touring Finland for an assessment.
      As a member state of the OSCE, Finland is committed to accepting election monitors that might be sent, and the Foreign Ministry has always invited OSCE representatives to Finland before elections.
      OSCE senior election expert Vadim Zhdanoviz sees no special reason to come to Finland this year.
      "We visit as many member states as possible to assess the need for monitoring. On the basis of the visits, we decide to which of the dozens of elections in any one year we will send monitors", Zhdanoviz says.
      Similar trips have taken place to Estonia, Italy, and Canada.
     
During their four-day visit to Finland, the OSCE experts are to be briefed on Finnish election arrangements, and the handling of the elections in the media.
      They are to evaluate the extent to which Finnish electoral legislation and preparations for the vote correspond to OSCE guidelines on transparency and equality.
      The experts are meeting with officials in charge of arrangements for the elections, as well as representatives of the media, political parties, and civic groups.
      It is on the basis of the information that they get that the OSCE will decide whether or not to send observers to Finland and if so, in what composition. A decision on the matter will be made in February.
      The organisation monitors elections through operations of various sizes, ranging from the deployment of hundreds of election observers, to small groups of experts focusing on specific matters.
      In addition to elections in young democracies, the OSCE has been observing the election process in some more established democracies as well. For instance, the organisation sent a small group of experts to The Netherlands recently to examine electronic voting in the Dutch Parliamentary elections.
      "What is most important is that the will of the people is implemented in the elections" Zhdanoviz says. He notes that the position of minorities, weak voter turnout, and the challenges of electronic voting are issues that interest the OSCE even in established democracies such as Finland.
      The OSCE is currently considering whether or not to send observers to Estonia in March. In those elections, citizens will have the option of voting via the Internet.
      The OSCE has decided to send observers to the local elections in Albania and Presidential elections in Turkmenistan.


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