AKIPRESS.COM - OSCE parliamentarians will observe the upcoming parliamentary elections in Tajikistan and provide leadership for the OSCE's short-term observer mission, the organisation said in a press release on Tuesday.

OSCE Chairperson-in-Office Ivica Dacic has designated Marietta Tidei (MP, Italy) as Special Co-ordinator to lead the short-term OSCE observer mission for the 1 March vote. Geir Joergen Bekkevold (MP, Norway) will serve as Head of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly Delegation, which will include nearly 50 MPs from 23 OSCE participating States.

“Tajikistan's citizens deserve the opportunity to hold an open and vibrant dialogue on the future of their country through these elections. I note the issues the OSCE raised when I was in Tajikistan to observe the 2013 presidential vote, and hope to report on improvements when delivering our conclusions following election day,” Special Co-ordinator Tidei said.

OSCE parliamentary observers will deploy to polling stations across Tajikistan, working closely with long-term observers from the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (OSCE/ODIHR) and in co-ordination with colleagues from the European Parliament (EP).

The mission will assess the elections against democratic commitments contained in the OSCE’s 1990 Copenhagen Document.

Special Co-ordinator Tidei serves as Rapporteur of the OSCE PA’s Committee on Economic Affairs, Science, Technology and Environment. She has been a frequent participant in election observation missions since joining Italy’s Delegation to the PA. In addition to Tajikistan’s last presidential vote, she has observed elections in Bosnia and Herzegovina, where she served as Head of the OSCE PA Delegation; the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia; Georgia; Moldova; Serbia; Turkey; Ukraine; and the United States of America.

Geir Joergen Bekkevold, who will lead the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly Delegation of observers, serves as the Head of Norway’s Delegation to the OSCE PA. He has observed elections in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Moldova, the United States of America, Ukraine and twice in Kazakhstan.

The OSCE Parliamentary Assembly observed the parliamentary elections in Tajikistan in 2010 as well as the presidential elections in 2006 and 2013.

Since 1993, more than 5,000 OSCE parliamentarians and staff have observed nearly 150 elections in more than 30 countries.