A 17-member delegation from the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe will carry out an election observation mission from 4 to 8 May, to observe the elections taking place on 7 May 2026 in the United Kingdom. On election day, 8 teams will be deployed in London, Edinburgh and Cardiff to observe the election procedures in polling stations.
The delegation will meet with members of the National delegation of the United Kingdom to the Congress, representatives of the diplomatic corps of countries represented in the Congress delegation, as well as domestic and international NGOs and the media. It will hold briefings with representatives and candidates of political parties running in these elections.
The delegation will also meet with representatives of the Local Government Association; the Chair of the Electoral Commission; the Minister of State for Security of the United Kingdom and Chair of the Defending Democracy Taskforce; and the Secretary of State, Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.
A statement of preliminary conclusions will be released on the Congress website on 8 May 2026 in the afternoon.
Congress delegation
Jani KOKKO, Finland, SOC/G/PD, L - Head of delegation
Marcel BOBEICA, Republic of Moldova, EPP/CCE, L
Alex BOOMGAARS, Netherlands, SOC/G/PD, L
Marcin GOLASZEWSKI, Poland, EPP/CCE, L
Suzanne GROBIEN, Germany, EPP/CCE, R
Celia GROOTHEDDE, Belgium, SOC/G/PD, R
Gyorgy ILLES, Hungary, ILDG, L
Urs JANETT, Switzerland, ILDG, R
Anders KNAPE, Sweden, EPP/CCE, L
James MOLONEY, Ireland, ILDG, L
Aisling MORAN, Ireland, ILDG, L
Pjerin NDREU, Albania, SOC/G/PD, R
Expert
Nino ZURABISHVILI, Member of the Congress Group of Independent Experts (Georgia)
See also: Congress webpage on the observation of local and regional elections
