Head of election observation mission of the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (ODIHR/OSCE) Johan Peter Traugott Theiler arrived in Tashkent on Tuesday morning.
On 28 October, the Central Election Commission of Uzbekistan accredited members of the core group of the ODIHR mission, including 17 persons from 13 OSCE participating states. The mission will also include 28 long-term and 250 short-term observers.
ODIHR is sending a full-fledged election observation mission to Uzbekistan for the first time, underlining the country’s readiness to hold an important political event in a transparent manner and in accordance with international electoral standards.
“This is the first time for me to arrive in your country as head of the election observation mission, and I am happy to be warmly welcomed,” Johan Peter Traugott Theiler said upon arrival.
The tasks of the head of the mission include supervising the work of the observers, including establishment of contacts with government bodies, electoral administration and other participants of the process , as well as ensuring preparation of interim, preliminary and final reports.
Johan Peter Traugott Theiler is a Swedish citizen, with 40 years of diplomatic experience. In 2012−2016 he served as Swedish ambassador to Iran and before that headed diplomatic missions in Pakistan, Afghanistan, South Africa and other countries.
The long-term observers are expected to arrive in Uzbekistan on 5 November to monitor various stages of electoral process in the regions and provide the mission members with information on what is happening in the country.
Short-term observers will be in Uzbekistan during 2−6 December. Their tasks include monitoring in the designated area on the election day, as well as reporting to mission headquarters. Deployment of a large number of short-term observers will allow ODIHR to ensure a statistically representative coverage of the polling stations across the country.
