MADRID, 10 Nov. (EUROPA PRESS) –
International observers from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) have affirmed this Wednesday that the mid-term elections held on Tuesday in the United States have been well managed despite “efforts” to undermine confidence in them. .
“The congressional midterm elections on November 8 were competitive and professionally managed, with active voter participation,” OSCE monitors said in a joint statement, detailing that many contests were highly polarized.
In this sense, the OSCE has affirmed that the elections were “tarnished” by “harsh rhetoric”, pointing out that the partisan redistribution of electoral districts has given rise to non-competitive constituencies.
“Efforts to undermine voter confidence in the electoral process by baselessly questioning its integrity may lead to systemic challenges,” the agency warned.
The statement, delivered at a press conference in Washington by OSCE Special Coordinator Margareta Cederfelt, also noted that campaign finance disclosure mechanisms are generally comprehensive, although gaps in the framework regulations make the impact of money on politics less transparent.
He has also criticized the fact that each State adopts and applies its own laws and regulations on electoral matters, since it provides a “complex and diverse” legal framework.
The head of the observer delegation of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, the Spaniard Pere Joan Pons, stressed that, as a solid and well-established democracy, “it is crucial that the United States continue to improve its electoral system by increasing the right to vote , the improvement of electoral security and the fight against disinformation”.
“The challenges to democracy facing the United States are common to many OSCE countries and we must all work together to ensure that citizens trust their democratic processes,” added Pons.
However, harassment, threats and instances of violence against candidates, their families and election officials have been of concern to the OSCE.
In this regard, observers have welcomed efforts by Congress to allocate funds for election security, including to counter threats against election administrators, as well as a joint Justice Department/Federal Bureau of Investigation task force that was created to gather information about threats and address them at the federal level.
More than 100 OSCE parliamentarians, supported by some 30 staff members, have been deployed for election day observation in the states of California, Virginia, Maryland, Wisconsin, New Hampshire, Nevada, New York, Missouri and the D.C.
This is the ninth OSCE Parliamentary Assembly observer mission to the United States since 2004, and the largest ever deployed.
