OSCE confirms no signs of interference in US midterm elections

The US has always accused Russia of trying to undermine American democracy. Photo: AP

On November 6, international observers from the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) and the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly (OSCE PA) affirmed that they did not find any signs of external interference in the 2018 US midterm elections.

Speaking to reporters in Washington, DC (USA) on November 7, OSCE special coordinator George Tsereteli affirmed: "We have not discovered any evidence."

According to this official, the election machines worked well and they did not detect any signs that any polling stations or systems were attacked.

Meanwhile, OSCE PA head Isabel Santos stressed that so far observers have not detected any evidence of external interference in the election.

However, Ms. Santos said, authorities around the world need to be ready to respond and cooperate on issues related to election security.

"Cyberspace is an open space with no boundaries and threats can come from anywhere, even from ordinary citizens. We need to be ready to invest in cybersecurity - invest in technological conditions as well as invest in dialogue between countries for the purpose of self-defense," Ms. Santos said.

Also on November 7, US President Donald Trump announced that his administration plans to release a full report on any interference from other countries in the recently concluded midterm elections.

For the past two years, Washington has accused Moscow of trying to undermine American democracy as it did in the 2016 presidential election.