The task of the mission is not to systematically monitor the process of voting but to assess whether the election comply with international standards.

During the assessment our interlocutors have not found it necessary to monitor the course of vote casting and vote counting on the very day of the election, the mission's head Geert-Hinrich Ahrens told a news conference in Zagreb today.

Although the mission's staff will visit a few polling stations on 4 December, the mandate of the limited mission is to analyse the election campaign financing legislation, media coverage of the campaign, and election agencies' efforts to settle possible disputes, he said.

Next week, six permanent observers will be sent to Osijek, Sisak and Zadar, and a ten-member team will be in Zagreb.

The mission will release a preliminary report on the day after the election and a final report eight weeks upon the completion of the election process.

Asked by reporters to comment the intention of the regional HDSSB party to have Branimir Glavas, who is serving a prison term for war crimes, as the head of its slates, Ahrens said that this issue was not within the mandate of the mission.

However, we are not politically illiterate and we know what is going on. But this is not our mandate, Ahrens said in comment to that question.