Parliamentary Elections in Georgia - Malta part of OSCE observer team

The Hon Angelo Farrugia, MP will be proceeding to Georgia to observe the parliamentary elections to be held on the 31st October 1999.

Mr Bruce George, British MP, Vice President of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly and Chair of the Defence Committee of the House of Commons, has been appointed by the OSCE Chairman-in-Office, Norwegian Foreign Minister Knut Vollebaek, the Special Representative to lead the large contingent of international observers deployed by the OSCE throughout the country and to deliver the preliminary assessment in conjunction with other appropriate officials on behalf of the international community on 1st November 1999.

The OSCE observer team will include 23 Parliamentarians from OSCE countries including Armenia, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Romania, Sweden, Turkey, Ukraine and the United Kingdom. The team also includes representatives from the North Atlantic Assembly and the US Congressional Helsinki Commission.

The OSCE Election Observation Mission is a joint effort between the Parliamentary Assembly of the OSCE and the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) and includes long and short-term observers from OSCE participating States. The OSCE Observation Mission will assess the conduct of the elections, the political campaign and the role of the media. Long-term observers have already been deployed for several weeks across the country.