ELECTIONS Within the OSCE, democratic elections are recognized as the cornerstone of democracy and are regarded as one of the key elements of long-term security and stability. As a community committed to the respect for human rights, democracy and the rule of law, OSCE participating States have committed themselves to upholding such important principles of democratic elections as universality, equality, transparency, secrecy of the vote, accountability, fairness and freedom. In the 1990 Copenhagen Document, they declared that these principles would serve as the basis of the authority and legitimacy of governments. In recognizing the importance of democratic elections, OSCE participating States mandated ODIHR to assist them in the implementation of election-related commitments through the conduct of election observation. The Office’s comprehensive election observation methodology, which is grounded in independence, impartiality and professionalism, and seeks to provide needs-focused and longterm analysis of observed electoral processes, has positioned the organization at the forefront of international observer efforts. With election-related activities conducted in nearly all OSCE participating States, ODIHR reports and recommendations offer participating States a comprehensive, professional, and impartial picture of the electoral processes observed and of possible improvements. Reporting by ODIHR demonstrates that, while numerous examples of commendable electoral practice have been noted, a number of issues continue to pose challenges for participating States and have the potential of negatively impacting citizens’ election-related rights. A methodology developed over a decade-and-a-half, as tasked by the OSCE participating States, continues to be applied systematically and uniformly to the assessment of all the electoral processes across the OSCE region. ODIHR also continuously strives to further develop this methodology with a view to addressing new and emerging issues. A number of thematic handbooks have been published in recent years, contributing to the spectrum of methodological materials guiding experts in specific elements of an electoral process. The two latest handbooks address the issues of electoral participation of national minorities and the observation of campaign finance, providing guidance on how these elements can be observed by election missions more systematically. While underscoring the importance of observation, participating States have also repeatedly reaffirmed the significance of post-electoral dialogue and committed themselves to follow up on ODIHR’s election recommendations. Over the last few years, ODIHR has made itself increasingly available and responded positively to requests for post-electoral dialogue. This has included in-country presentations and discussions of final reports, expert consultations and legal reviews of drafts or amendments to election-related legislation. ODIHR Annual Report 2014 11