asks about the international observers for the recent US election. Yes, it did happen. The OSCE deployed 92 observers, of whom 56 were members of parliament in their own countries. This is comparatively top-heavy for an OSCE election observation mission, which normally would have a few heavyweight political figures and then mostly much younger activists on the ground. They published an 11-page preliminary report on November 4th and promised a more exhaustive final report six weeks after the election, so the week after next by my tally.

The preliminary report (11 pages pdf, 68k) is here. It mainly concentrates on the incomplete implementation of the Help America Vote Act and on variations of practice in different parts of the country. The observers note the pre-election allegations of fraud but don’t make any assessment of them; they seem to take a very slightly stronger line on stories of intimidation of minority voters. If I notice when the full report is published I’ll note it here.