Speech
Permanent Council No 546 of the OSCE: EU Statement on the parliamentary elections in Tajikistan

Date of Speech : 03-03-2005

Place : Vienna

Speaker : Jacques Reuter, Permanent Representative of Luxembourg at the OSCE

Policy area : General Affairs and External Relations

The European Union takes note of the Preliminary Findings and Conclusions of the OSCE/ODIHR Election Observation Mission (EOM) for the elections to the lower chamber of parliament in the Republic of Tajikistan on 27 February 2005. 

The EU welcomes that the election process was peaceful, with no serious instances of violence directly related to the elections. It is also pleased to note some improvements over previous elections, including amendments to the legislative framework, greater pluralism and choice of candidates and the introduction of transparent ballot boxes and ballot security features.

However, the EU regrets that the elections failed to meet many key OSCE commitments and other international standards for democratic elections. It is of particular concern that the composition of election commissions did not ensure broad confidence and their decision making lacked transparency, the political campaign was controlled and managed by election officials and government authorities and there was official interference with the independent press.

It is also of serious concern that Election Day was marked by large-scale procedural irregularities, in particular during counting and the tabulation of results which undermined the integrity of these important aspects of the election process. Moreover, the fact that some EOM observers faced serious obstruction of their work during the vote count and tabulation in polling stations and nine District Election Commissions is a matter of deep concern.

The European Union calls on the Government of Tajikistan to pursue democratic reforms and stands ready to assist Tajik authorities in efforts to improve the conduct of future elections. The EU reserves its right to come back to the matter after the OSCE/ODIHR has released its final report on the elections.

The Candidate Countries Bulgaria, Romania, Turkey and Croatia¹  align themselves with this statement.

 

¹Croatia continues to be part of the Stabilisation and Association Process