COUNTRY ELECTION T YPE ELECTION DATE MISSION T YPE 1 Estonia Parliamentary elections 5 March EAM 2 Kazakhstan Early presidential elections 3 April EOM 3 Finland Parliamentary elections 17 April EAM 4 Albania Local elections 8 May EOM 5 Cyprus Parliamentary elections 22 May EAM 6 Moldova Local elections 5 June LEOM 7 Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia Early parliamentary elections 5 June EOM 8 Turkey General elections 12 June EAM 9 Latvia Early parliamentary elections 17 September LEOM 10 Bulgaria Presidential & local elections 23 October LEOM 11 Switzerland Parliamentary elections 23 October EAM 12 Kyrgyzstan Presidential elections 30 October EOM 13 Poland Parliamentary elections 9 October EAM 14 Russian Federation State Duma elections 4 December EOM 15 Croatia Parliamentary elections 4 December LEOM 16 Spain Parliamentary elections 20 November EAM 17 Slovenia Early parliamentary elections 4 December 18 Kazakhstan Early parliamentary elections 15 January 2012 [ Elections ] Election Observation Activities in 2011 EAM 1 EOM 1  Mission opened on 13 December 2011 the National Democratic Institute and the International Foundation for Electoral Systems, to promote common principles on international election observation. The Office has continued to strengthen its co-operation with the Organization of American States and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation through the sharing of ODIHR election observation experience and methodology. The year also saw increasing co-operation with the OSCE’s Mediterranean Partners for Co-operation. In addition, in co-ordination with other organizations involved in this area, ODIHR actively pursued the implementation of the Declaration of Principles for International Election Observation, to further improve the quality, process and co-ordination of observation activities. ODIHR also deployed election expert teams to Kyrgyzstan for the 17 April partial local elections in the Osh, Talas and Batken regions, and to Norway for the 12 ­September local elections. Key findings While a number of positive developments were observed in the context of ODIHR election observation missions over the course of 2011, some serious shortcomings remained. These included: '' Limitations to the right to be elected: OSCE commitments require that all citizens have equal rights to stand for office and to be elected, yet many participating States continue to employ administrative rules to keep specific candidates and parties off the ballot or to de-register candidates during the campaign. In these instances, the right of citizens to seek political or public office without discrimination was not guaranteed. '' Lack of a free campaign environment: Some participating States failed to create the necessary conditions to allow parties and candidates to campaign freely on an equal basis, thus failing to ensure a level playing field. It is the responsibility of governments to ensure that public and administrative resources, both human and material, are not abused in support of any particular parties or candidates during election campaigns. '' Inequitable access to media: Individual candidates and parties frequently experienced difficulties gaining equitable access to media. This not only denied those running in elections the chance to convey their message to the electorate on an equal basis, but also withheld information voters need to make an informed choice. State-controlled and public media have a special responsibility in this regard. ODIHR Annual Report 2011 13