TUNIS, 21 October 2011 – The international observers attending the elections to the National Constituent Assembly in Tunisia will present a post-election statement at a news conference on Monday 24 October.
Italian parliamentarian Riccardo Migliori, leading the delegation of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Parliamentary Assembly, and Swiss parliamentarian Andreas Gross, leading the delegation of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), will deliver the statement on behalf of the observers at the Hotel Les Berges du Lac in Tunis.
WHO: Riccardo Migliori (Italy), Head of the OSCE PA delegation
Andreas Gross (Switzerland), Head of the PACE delegation
WHERE: Meeting room 'Matignon' in Hotel les Berges du Lac, Tunis
WHEN: 24 October at 11:00 AM (Tunis time is GMT +1 hour)
Around 110 observers from the OSCE PA and PACE are expected to take part in the observation of Tunisia's historic elections, the first arising from the 'Arab Spring.'
Riccardo Migliori has paid two pre-election visits to Tunisia, one from 6 to 9 September and again from 28 September to 1 October, meeting with electoral authorities, leaders and candidates of the major political parties contesting the elections, and representatives of the international community.
"I have been to Tunisia twice this year and I believe there are many reasons to be optimistic," Migliori said. "The richness of the election campaigns and the extraordinary personal stories of the political protagonists – many of whom have spent years in exile or in prison – show a great civic enthusiasm."
Tunisians are voting on Sunday 23 October to elect members to the National Constituent Assembly, a 217-seat body that is mandated to draw up a new Constitution for the Tunisian Republic within a year. Tunisia, an OSCE Mediterranean Partner for Co-operation, is not a party to the OSCE 1990 Copenhagen Document, but has subscribed to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which will serve as the basis of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly's election observation.
