Nuno Paixão, Paula Cardoso and Linnéa Wickman meet with CEC officials in Chisinau, 4 Sept. 2025CHISINAU, 5 September 2025 – The leaders of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly’s election observation mission to the 28 September parliamentary elections in Moldova have been in Chisinau the past two days to prepare for the full deployment of observers later this month. The findings from this pre-election visit will help to inform the observation mission and focus attention on any possible areas of concern.
Portuguese parliamentarian Paula Cardoso, who has been appointed by the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office as Special Co-ordinator and leader of the short-term OSCE observers, and Swedish parliamentarian Linnéa Wickman, who has been appointed by the OSCE PA President as Head of the PA’s delegation of observers, met on Thursday and Friday with a wide range of interlocutors to learn more about the pre-election environment.
Cardoso and Wickman held extensive discussions with representatives of Moldova’s election administration bodies, political parties and candidates, civil society, and the media. They also met with the OSCE PA’s election observation partners from the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, and representatives of the OSCE Mission to Moldova.
“As observers, our primary concern is that the elections are conducted in line with international commitments and that the results accurately reflect the will of the voters,” Special Co-ordinator Cardoso said. “Working closely with the hundreds of long-term and short-term observers deployed by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, as well as our partners from the European Parliament and Council of Europe, we will strive to ensure a comprehensive, balanced and fair assessment of the electoral process.”
Cardoso, who has served head of the Portuguese Delegation to the OSCE PA since 2022, is also Rapporteur of the General Committee on Economic Affairs, Science, Technology and Environment.
“For two days, we have been in Chisinau where we have held meetings with representatives of Moldova’s election administration bodies, political parties and candidates, civil society, the media, and the international community,” added Head of the OSCE PA Mission Wickman. “These discussions have been instrumental in helping to provide background any possible areas of concern ahead of the very important parliamentary elections here later this month.”
She added that as an indication of the significance of these elections, about 85 OSCE parliamentarians are expected to participate in the election observation mission to Moldova.
Wickman, a member of the OSCE PA’s Swedish Delegation, is active in the Network of Young Parliamentarians.
Both Wickman and Cardoso offered their thanks to all the interlocutors who took the time to meet with them.
For information on previous election observation missions to Moldova, please click here.
