OSCE to monitor US presidential election

A team of experts from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) will observe forthcoming American presidential election, the State Department said on Monday.

This did not suggest there might be a problem with the November2 contest between President George W. Bush and Senator John Kerry meeting international standards but rather reflected "a standing agreement" between the 55 OSCE nations, deputy spokesman of the State Department Adam Ereli said.

"This is not a question of whether there's a free and fair election in the United States. This is a question of an agreement among all states of the OSCE that it is right and appropriate, in the interest of transparency and equity, for all of us at various times to look at each others' elections," Ereli said.

Several members of the House of Representatives have asked the United Nations to send observers to "ensure free and fair elections in America."

"As lawmakers, we must assure the people of America that our nation will not experience the nightmare of the 2000 presidential election," Texas representative Eddie Bernice Johnson said last month.

Source: Xinhua