 A total of 858 observers from 19 countries were present at the polling stations during the election.According to Joseph Misfud, member of the election observation mission from Great Britain and head of the Diplomatic Academy of London, "the elections met all the EU standards".The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) and other international monitors criticised the election as unfair, with issues noted including the closure of media outlets critical of the government and the jailing of opposition activists.