Mission to Moldova

I spent yesterday travelling to Chisinau on Turkish Airlines with a stop-over in Istanbul. I am here as part of an Election Observation Mission (EOM).

It is a parliamentary election to be held on Sunday and I am one of about 200 Short Term Observers (STOs). There are a dozen of us from the UK with the other observers drawn from other OSCE member states. Over the coming days I will tell you more about EOMs and the duties of an STO. Perhaps you will be encouraged to apply. I will not be commenting about this Mission as STOs are not permitted to share their observations outside the EOM team. Next week a Statement of Preliminary Findings and Conclusions will be published and that I can share with you.

I can also tell you this is my first visit to Moldova, the least visited country in Europe having only 11,000 visitors a year at the last count. I am looking forward to being a small cog in the machinery of their election. I can also show you the view from my room as dawn breaks over Chisinau.