OSCE observers: Election day generally well-organized, professionally conducted, despite certain procedure inconsistencies

Technical preparations for Romania's presidential runoff were carried out in a "professional" and "efficient" manner, despite the "lack of transparency" in the activity of the electoral administration, the observation mission of OSCE's Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) notes in a preliminary report released on Monday.In this highly contested second round, we saw that the fundamental freedoms of assembly and association were respected. Technical preparations for the runoff were carried out in a professional and efficient manner despite the lack of transparency in the activity of the electoral administration. One source of concern was the lack of regulation for the period between the first round of voting and the start of the official campaign for the second round, which led to uncertainty regarding the allowed political activities, campaign financing rules and media coverage, which affected the participation of other political parties, head of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly delegation Lucie Potuckova declared at a press conference on the preliminary report after Romania's presidential runoff.She remarked that despite the highly polarised atmosphere of the election, which was fraught with defamatory rhetoric, a larger number of voters expressed their will in a calm and orderly manner.Our observation at the polling stations found that the election day was generally well-organized and professionally conducted, and despite certain procedure inconsistencies observed, we assessed it positively, Potuckova said.The head of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly delegation indicated that online campaign messages focused on divisive themes and ad hominem attacks, and that the sometimes biased media coverage affected the voters' ability to make an informed choice. In addition, widespread dis- and misinformation, including during the electoral process, triggered public responses from the authorities, she added.In her opinion, there is still need for continued work on the complex electoral framework, in accordance with OSCE commitments and international standards.Potuckova informed that the final report of the observation mission will be issued 90 days after the second round of the presidential election.In his turn, the head of ODIHR's observation mission Eoghan Murphy stated that the electoral administration implemented the electoral process professionally, efficiently and within the legal deadlines, but transparency remained limited just as in the first round, as meetings continued to be closed and information published by electoral offices was sometimes "incomplete" or "inconsistent".Despite the increase in the number of online postings flagged by state authorities, the continued prevalence of inauthentic behavior, including around the campaigns of both candidates, indicated that institutional responses remained fragmented and generally insufficient to effectively mitigate such behavior. This impacted on the voters' ability to make an informed choice, he argued.Also, Eoghan Murphy said that the National Audiovisual Council's decisions on campaign media complaints did not provide for effective or timely redress.According to him, the lack of reporting requirements on the campaign financing in the period between the first and second rounds of voting affected transparency and accountability.Some procedural inconsistencies were also noted, but these did not affect the overall positive assessment by the observers.Election day was generally calm, well-organized and professionally conducted said the head of the OSCE ODIHR mission, adding that the international observers will remain in Romania to follow post-election developments, including any complaints and challenges related to the ballot.