The United States recognizes and appreciates the strong interest among the participating States in our general election that was held on November 8. We were honored to have observers from more than 30 OSCE participating States and one Partner for Cooperation observe our elections as part of the OSCE election observation mission.
We understand that observation teams had an opportunity to meet with federal, state, and local government officials, members of the media, representatives of political parties, civil society representatives, and voters.
The U.S. government, through this Mission and the Department of State in Washington, worked closely with the OSCE election observation mission to inform state and local officials about the OSCE and its role, and to facilitate access for observers. We hope that all of the observers enjoyed their experience and came away with a greater understanding of our unique federal electoral system.
We welcome the very recent release of the Statement of Preliminary Findings and Conclusions, and will study it in the days and weeks ahead. We look forward to the release of the final report, and welcome the opportunity to brief officials in the United States on the report and its recommendations.
We would like to thank ODIHR, the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, and all other election observers for their efforts. We greatly value the OSCE’s important work promoting free and fair elections throughout the OSCE region. We strongly believe that all participating States should avail themselves of the opportunity to participate in the OSCE election observation missions . Furthermore, all participating States, including the United States, should continuously strive to improve their democratic practices to help ensure the protection of human rights, as well as the prosperity and overall welfare of their residents.
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
As delivered by Deputy Permanent Representative Kate Byrnes to the Permanent Council, Vienna
