COPENHAGHEN, 23 July 2012 – OSCE Parliamentary Assembly President Riccardo Migliori today sent letters of appointment naming the OSCE PA election observation leaders for upcoming missions to Belarus, Ukraine, and the United States.

Speaking to the elected leadership of the Assembly earlier this month, Migliori stressed the importance of robust participation in these missions.

Matteo Mecacci (Italy), chair of the Committee on Democracy, Human Rights, and Humanitarian Questions, will head the election observation mission for parliamentary elections in Belarus on 23 September.

OSCE PA Vice-President Walburga Habsburg Douglas (Sweden) will head the mission to observe the parliamentary elections in Ukraine on 28 October.

Former OSCE PA President Joao Soares (Portugal) will lead the election observation mission to the United States where voting will be held on 6 November.

All three appointees have extensive election observation experience. Soares most recently led the OSCE observation mission to Kazakhstan in January 2012. This will be his third time leading the observation mission in the United States. Habsburg Douglas recently led the 2011 election observation mission to Kyrgyzstan and Mecacci led this year's observation of elections in Serbia.