Foreign Election Observers Are Here -- But They're Not With the U.N.

ST. LOUIS, MO - NOVEMBER 6: Voters cast their ballots in the general election November 6, 2012 at Earl Nance Sr. Elementary School in St. Louis, Missouri. As Americans go to vote, U.S. President Barack Obama and Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney are in a virtual tie in the national polls. (Credit: Getty Images)

Despite a multitude of reports that insinuate that the foreign election monitors currently at polling stations across the U.S. are working for the United Nations, they are not, according to U.N. officials.

Farhan Haq, associate spokesman for the U.N. Secretary General, told TheBlaze in a phone interview on Tuesday that the U.N. has "no role in any election monitoring in the U.S."

"Every time we've been asked about this, we've said it was false; and we've said it consistently," he said. "I don't know why some media outlets continue to report false information."

The foreign organization monitoring today's U.S. election is the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE). While Haq confirmed that the United Nations considers the group a "partner," he also said the U.N. has not coordinated with OSCE or even discussed the issue of election monitoring.

In an email to TheBlaze, OSCE spokesman Thomas Rymer confirmed that the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights was on an "election observation mission" in the United States, however the findings of their mission will not be released until Wednesday during a press conference in Washington, D.C. Rymer would not provide TheBlaze any details about the election observers' experience at polling stations so far.

The group was invited by the U.S. Mission to the OSCE, an international arm of the State Department. Rymer said there is no agreement between the OSCE and the United Nations in regards to its election monitoring mission, which the group has been conducting in the U.S. since 2002.

To be sure, while this revelation seemingly absolves the U.N. of being directly involved in monitoring elections here in the United States, there is still the issue of a foreign organization, with no viable reason to include itself in the U.S. Elections, showing up at polling places at the direction of the U.S. State Department.

Election observers of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) stand as electoral commission members count ballots at polling station in Kiev on October 28, 2012. (Credit: AFP/Getty Images)

"Regarding your questions, I should begin by explaining that the OSCE is not part of the UN, but is the world's largest regional security agency, established in 1975 with the United States as one of the founding participating states," Rymer said. He added that they have not coordinated with the United Nations in their election monitoring efforts.

He said OSCE plans to release a preliminary statement of findings and conclusions during a news conference on Wednesday at 3 p.m. ET in Washington, D.C. The statement of findings will be delivered by Ambassador Daan Everts, the Head of the OSCE/ODIHR limited election observation mission.

"The mission is observing the elections following an invitation by the United States government, in line with its commitments as an OSCE participating State," according to a press release from the organization.

"The mission comprises a total of 44 long-term observers, deployed throughout the country, and a core team of 13 election experts, based in Washington D.C. The mission members come from a total of 23 OSCE participating States."

Among the causes listed on the OSCE website are "tolerance and non-discrimination," human rights, elections, environmental activities and "arms control."

Featured image via AP