OSCE to send a ‘needs assessment mission’ to Malta ahead of 3 June elections

Upon Malta’s invitation as a member of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe, a Needs Assessment Mission will be deployed to Malta from 15 to 17 May

Following its assessment, the OSCE mission will decide whether to send a second team to monitor the general election
Following its assessment, the OSCE mission will decide whether to send a second team to monitor the general election

The Organisation for Security and Co-Operation (OSCE) in Europe is planning the deployment of a mission to assess “the pre-election environment and the preparations” for the 3 June general elections.

A Needs Assessment Mission (NAM) will be deployed to Valletta from 15 to 17 May, upon an invitation by Malta.

Malta is a member of the OSCE and, in line with its commitments as a member state, it invited the OSCE’s Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), the parliamentary assembly and all participating states to observe the upcoming elections.

Malta’s invitation was extended on 2 May, a day after Prime Minister Joseph Muscat announced that he was dissolving parliament and calling snap elections.

Depending on its assessment of the political climate and the preparations underway, the NAM would then recommend whether an OSCE “election-related activity for the elections” should be deployed. The NAM would also determine what “type of activity best meets the identified needs”.

The mission is expected to request meeting with a number of senior officials in Malta, including the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, the Electoral Commission, the Constitutional Court, the Court of Appeals, the Police Headquarters, the Department of Information, the Broadcasting Authority, the Public Service Broadcaster as well as representatives of the main political parties – which would include both the Labour and Nationalist Parties.

The mission is also expected to hold meetings with media representatives and civil society.