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US election characterized by baseless allegations of fraud, OSCE says

One of the mission’s coordinators and leaders Michael Georg Link noted that statements on deficiencies of the electoral system on the part of incumbent President Donald Trump were baseless

WASHINGTON, November 5. /TASS/. American electoral campaign has been characterized by political polarization and baseless allegations of systematic falsifications, a statement by the International Election Observation Mission of the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) made public on Wednesday said.

"The campaign was characterized by deeply entrenched political polarization, which often eclipsed policy and party-platform discussions," the document noted. Additionally, the statement noted that "Animosity and heated rhetoric between candidates negatively affected the focus of campaigns on policies and party platforms. The two leading presidential candidates accused each other of corruption, fraud, working for foreign interests, an inability to lead, and support for extremist groups."

Presenting the report in Washington, one of the mission’s coordinators and leaders Michael Georg Link (Germany) noted that statements on deficiencies of the electoral system on the part of incumbent President Donald Trump were baseless: "Baseless allegations of systematic deficiencies, notably by the incumbent president, including on election night, harm public trust in democratic institutions," he emphasized.

As Ursula Gacek, head of the OSCE/ODIHR observation mission noted, European specialists will remain in the United States longer than planned since the election is not over yet and not all votes have been counted.