Elections Members of the electoral commission counting ballots at a polling station in Vienna following the close of polls in Austria’s presidential election, 25 April. (OSCE/Ron Laufer) ODIHR’s activities in the area of elections continued to focus on: »» Election observation; »» Follow-up to observation missions; »» Electoral legislation reform; »» Election observation methodology development; »» Training of observers; and »» Support for OSCE Partners for Co-operation. Election Observation The 6th edition of ODIHR’s Election Observation Handbook 10 ODIHR Annual Report 2010 ODIHR deployed missions or expert teams to 21 elections in 2010. As per ODIHR’s developed methodology, updated in 2010 with the launch of the 6th edition of the Election Observation Handbook, an election observation process begins with the deployment of a Needs Assessment Mission (NAM). This assesses the pre-election environment and preparations in order to produce a recommendation for the nature and scope of activity required, based on the needs identified. Some elements taken into consideration during the course of a NAM are whether the electoral legal framework is in line with OSCE commitments, what the level of public confidence is in the conduct of elections, and whether tested electoral practices, respect for fundamental rights and freedoms, proven checks and balances, an open civil society and a pluralistic media environment are in place. The added value in a particular country context is another element assessed, and the potential usefulness of an ODIHR election activity is discussed with all interlocutors. Due to limited resources in terms of funding and staff, a NAM to every participating State holding an election is not possible, although all due efforts are made to cover as many as possible. In 2010, 15 NAMs were conducted throughout the OSCE area. In 8 of the 21 elections for which it carried out observation activities, ODIHR deployed fullscale election observation missions (EOMs), which include a core teams of experts, as well as long and short-term observers that are seconded by individual OSCE participating States. Two limited election observation missions (LEOMs) and one Limited Referendum Observation Mission (LROM) were deployed in 2010. These limited missions are deployed to states where long-term observers are deemed necessary, but where election-day issues are expected to be unproblematic.1 Six election assessment missions (EAMs), comprising only a core team of experts, were also deployed in 2010. These 1  In one of these cases, that of the constitutional referendum in Kyrgyzstan in June, a full mission was initially anticipated, but this was downgraded to a limited mission due to security considerations on the ground.