Watchdog to boycott Russian elections
A leading independent election watchdog has said it will boycott next month’s Russian presidential ballot because of state interference.
The Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe said the country had demanded severe restrictions on its activities.
“We made every effort in good faith to deploy our mission, even under the conditions imposed by the Russian authorities,” said Christian Strohal, director of the organisation’s monitoring arm, the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights.
“We have a responsibility to all 56 participating states to fulfil our mandate, and the Russian Federation has created limitations that are not conducive to undertaking election observation in accordance with it.”
Russia would not allow an ODIHR planning mission scheduled for December to determine the scope of a potential observation mission.
“While Russia eventually invited ODIHR on January 28, it set severe restrictions on the composition and duration of the mission, also contrary to previous Russian elections observed,” he said.
Constraints set by Russian authorities have already prevented ODIHR from observing many important parts of the election process, beginning with the registration of candidates and other aspects of the campaign, including the work of the media, Mr Strohal said.
“An election is more than what happens on election day,” he said.
In response to the restrictions, ODIHR said it outlined to Russia the minimum required for effective, though limited, observation.
Russia’s Central Election Commission replied saying it could not meet the demands and denied visas for members of the advance team.
