COPENHAGEN, 19 May 2015 – OSCE parliamentarians will observe the upcoming parliamentary elections in Turkey and provide leadership for the OSCE's short-term observer mission. OSCE Chairperson-in-Office Ivica Dacic has designated Vilija Aleknaite Abramikiene (MP, Lithuania) as Special Co-ordinator to lead the short-term OSCE observer mission for the 7 June vote. Ignacio Sanchez Amor (MP, Spain) will serve as Head of the OSCE Parliamentary

Kyrgyz MP Roza Aknazarova addresses the conference (top left); Swedish MP Margareta Cederfelt speaks with former President of Kyrgyzstan Roza Otunbaeva (top right); a view of the conference's opening plenary on 15 May (bottom) BISHKEK, 16 May 2015 – OSCE parliamentarians led by Kyrgyzstan's Roza Aknazarova joined government and parliamentary leaders and representatives of international organizations and civil society in Bishkek on May 15-16,

Isabel Santos, Chair of the Committee on Democracy, Human Rights and Humanitarian Questions COPENHAGEN, 13 May 2015 – The Chair of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly's Committee on Democracy, Human Rights and Humanitarian Questions, Isabel Santos (MP, Portugal), today expressed deep concern over continuing restrictions placed on freedom of media and freedom of speech in Turkey and urged the country's leaders to immediately abide by their

Marietta Tidei (left) and Nilza Sena (right) at the meeting in Belgrade, 11 May BELGRADE, 11 May 2015 – The OSCE’s work in water governance is helping to promote co-operation needed for realizing the Organization’s broader security agenda, said two leaders of the OSCE PA’s economic and environmental committee, Vice-Chair Nilza Sena (MP, Portugal) and Rapporteur Marietta Tidei (MP, Italy), at the Second Preparatory Meeting of the 23rd Economic

COPENHAGEN, 11 May 2015 – OSCE Parliamentary Assembly President Ilkka Kanerva (MP, Finland) today called on all political and civil society actors in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia to work together to promote security and dialogue following the weekend's violence and warned that old ethnic divisions must not be allowed to reemerge in this time of political upheaval. "On behalf of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, I mourn the loss of

OSCE Special Co-ordinator George Tsereteli (MP, Georgia) exits a London polling station, 7 May. LONDON, 8 May 2015 – The 7 May General Elections in the United Kingdom provided an opportunity for a thorough debate on challenges facing the country, and voters could freely cast their ballots in a strong demonstration of democratic processes, observers from the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly concluded. They noted that several aspects of the system