Elections S ince its establishment in 1990 — originally as the Office for Free Elections — the OSCE’s Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights has developed its support for democratic elections over more than a decade. While its observation of elections throughout the region might have become one of its most visible tasks, the Office is also active in a number of other electionrelated activities, including the regular review of electoral legislation in support of emerging democracies’ efforts to meet their OSCE commitments and the publication of guidelines and handbooks about electoral issues. This, in turn, contributes to work in other areas designed to support strong democratic institutions. The past fifteen years have witnessed major progress in a number of countries in terms of conducting democratic elections, while some others run a serious risk of remaining rooted in practices left over from the times prior to democratic transition in the early 1990s. At the same time, increased attention is being paid to the conduct of elections in longer-established democracies, showing that all countries can continue to improve their electoral practices no matter what their traditions. demonstrated by a number of OSCE participating States. k Translating principles into best electoral practice: While the 1990 Copenhagen Document provides the fundamental principles for genuine democratic elections, translating those principles into practice has proven to be a challenge: overall, the past fifteen years have provided numerous examples of best electoral practices in various parts of the region. The ODIHR’s task is to disseminate those experiences among the 55 participating States in order to help bring each and every country’s electoral practices into line with their commitments. k Implementing recommendations: Election observation is not an end in itself. At the conclusion of any observation or assessment mission, the ODIHR provides recommendations that address areas where the electoral practices of a particular state should, or could, be improved. While the ODIHR continues to emphasize the Domestic observers in Baku discuss their observations during the 2005 parliamentary election in Azerbaijan with ODIHR Director Ambassador Christian Strohal (standing, second from the left). k Meeting standards for democratic elections: The ODIHR has reported significant improvements in the legal and administrative framework for elections in a number of participating States. Structural improvements are not, however, a guarantee that elections will be genuinely democratic, even if the administrative aspects of the process have been properly conducted. Authorities must also show a commensurate level of political will to implement improved election procedures, which is still not being sufficiently ANNUAL REPORT 2005 OSCE Main Issues 9