MOSCOW – The OSCE Parliamentary Assembly is sending over 500 observers to the Russian presidential election of March 18, the Assembly press service said in a statement seen by Interfax.
Former OSCE/ODIHR head Michael Georg Link will be the special coordinator of the OSCE short-term election observation mission, which will have about 420 members, the statement said.
In addition, Russia will be visited by a delegation of about 90 deputies from 30 OSCE member countries led by OSCE PA deputy head Marietta Tidei, it said.
“My fellow observers and I are following the electoral process in Russia in great detail, and look forward to deploying across the country on election day. I hope for continued good co-operation with the CEC, under the leadership of Ella Pamfilova, as we have enjoyed in the past. We also look forward to getting a full and realistic picture of the actual functioning the electoral system as we deploy our election observation mission in the coming days,” Link said.
“The PA will be working closely with the mission of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), led by Ambassador Jan Petersen. ODIHR’s long-term observer mission for these elections has been present in the Russian Federation since 5 February,” the statement said.
The joint findings of the observers will be delivered at a press conference in Moscow on March 19, it said.
That would be the 11th election observation mission of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly to Russian elections. The Assembly monitored Russian elections in 1993, 1995, 1996, 1999, 2000, 2003, 2007, 2011, 2012, and 2016.
The OSCE Parliamentary Assembly consists of members of 56 national parliaments.
