OSCE Observers: Our Presence on Election Day No Step Back for Bulgaria

The Organization for Security and Co-Operation in Europe (OSCE) will dispatch over 200 international observers in Bulgaria for the forthcoming parliamentary elections on May 12. Photo by Sofia Photo Agency

OSCE observers are not coming to Sofia to question Bulgarians’ ability to hold free and democratic elections, the leader of the mission said days before the country’s 2013 early parliamentary poll.

“We are coming to Sofia rather to send a signal that the OSCE stands ready to actively support this country just like any other participating State,” Eoghan Murphy, a member of the Irish parliament and the leader of the OSCE short-term Observation Mission for the 2013 early parliamentary election, said in a statement for Novinite.com.

When more than 200 international observers descend on Bulgaria to witness the parliamentary elections this week, it will be the first time since 1997 that the country has hosted such a full-fledged observation from the OSCE and its Parliamentary Assembly.

According to Eoghan Murphy no one in Sofia should view the presence of observers this year as any sort of a step back.

”On the contrary, Sofia’s decision to welcome OSCE observers – as enshrined in national law and Bulgaria’s international commitments – is recognition of Bulgaria’s stature within Europe and dedication to multilateral co-operation on our shared democratic goals.”

Full text of Eoghan Murphy’s article READ HERE

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