Washington Post 31 October 2011 The front-runner in Kyrgyzstan's presidential election claimed victory Monday after preliminary results showed he had garnered an overwhelming share of votes, but opponents cried foul and refused to concede defeat. Campaigners for Almazbek Atambayev said he secured broad support across the former Soviet Central Asian nation, showing that fears of the election exposing interregional tensions were unfounded. His

Walburga Habsburg Douglas talks to the head of a polling station in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, 30 October 2011. BISHKEK, 31 October 2011 - The presidential election in Kyrgyzstan was conducted in a peaceful manner, but shortcomings underscored that the integrity of the electoral process should be improved to consolidate democratic practice in line with international commitments, international observers concluded in a statement issued today. The

COPENHAGEN, 28 October 2011 — Riccardo Migliori, who led the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly's election observation mission to Tunisia last week, made the following statement today regarding news of post-election violence in the Tunisian city of Sidi Bouzid. "I am very concerned about the news of violence coming from Sidi Bouzid, a city I visited last Sunday together with OSCE PA Secretary General Spencer Oliver to observe the election and where I

Matteo Mecacci addressing an OSCE conference in Vienna entitled “Confronting Intolerance and Discrimination against Muslims in Public Discourse.” VIENNA, 28 October 2011 – Today in Vienna Matteo Mecacci, Chair of the OSCE PA's General Committee on Democracy, Human Rights and Humanitarian Questions, addressed the conference organized by the Lithuanian OSCE Chairmanship and the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights "Confronting

Walburga Habsburg Douglas, Special Co-ordinator of the OSCE short-term observer mission to Kyrgyzstan, opens the briefing programme in Bishkek. BISHKEK, 28 October 2011 – OSCE PA Vice-President Walburga Habsburg Douglas today opened the election observation briefing in Bishkek as more than 40 parliamentarians from the OSCE, European Parliament and Council of Europe converged on the Kyrgyzstan capital ahead of Sunday's presidential election. The

Vote shows country on its way to guaranteeing freedom, human rights, democracy TUNIS, 24 October 2011 – International election observers from the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe Parliamentary Assembly today declared the first democratic elections in Tunisia as "free and fair" and praised the Tunisian people for their participation in the electoral process. "The elections laid a first solid corner stone for future democratic