The October 26 Parliamentary Elections were well-administered, as confirmed by the OSCE/ODIHR’s final report published today, which positively assessed the conduct of the election process (at 90% and more) at polling stations on Election Day, reads the statement, issued by the Central Election Commission [CEC].

“It is emphasized that 99% of the electronic voting machines functioned properly, and the results from the vote-counting machines matched those manually counted. Additionally, it is noted that although not required, the election administration initiated and conducted a compliance audit of the election technologies.

The report positively evaluates the election administration"s transparency policy and various activities, including a large-scale information campaign, training sessions for both election staff and stakeholders, and efforts to involve ethnic minorities and persons with disabilities in the electoral process. The report emphasizes that the voter list formation process was inclusive, with the majority of observers raising no significant concerns about its accuracy. It also notes that the elections were competitive, and the CEC conducted the party registration process inclusively. Additionally, the report highlights that the election administration promptly published important updates, and CEC sessions were live-streamed, ensuring access to information.

It is noteworthy that the published report makes no mention of voting abroad, which confirms that the accusations and pressure campaigns led by interested parties throughout the election year were unfounded. The election administration acted within its authority to ensure the participation of voters abroad, in line with international practices and laws.

The OSCE/ODIHR report raises certain concerns and offers important recommendations on various aspects of the election process. These include recommendations to improve the secrecy of voting, design of electoral materials, improve polling station layouts, and the number of people present at polling stations.

The election administration will carefully review and study all the recommendations outlined in the report, and within its authority, will develop its opinions to each recommendation. Additionally, we value understanding the OSCE/ODIHR"s perspective on how the recommendations should be implemented, in line with international best practices. Based on this, the election administration is committed to continuing its close cooperation with the OSCE/ODIHR to further enhance and improve the election process”.