18/12/2007 (Agence Europe) - In a statement published on 17 December, the Portuguese EU Council presidency “notes with satisfaction that pluralistic elections were held in a generally calm environment”. It regrets, however, that the preliminary conclusions of the international election observation mission shed light on failure to comply with international standards, “in particular the lack of transparency and accountability during counting and tabulation”. On Sunday 16 December, President Kourmanbek Bakiev's party won all the seats of the new parliament during a ballot in which the opposition denounced massive fraud and violence. The EU also expresses “its concerns at shortcomings in the new election law, including the ambiguity of certain of its provisions”. (A.B.)