The CIS observer mission recognized the elections to the State Duma of Russia free and open

The CIS observer mission recognized the elections to the State Duma of the Russian Federation as free and open. This was stated at a briefing by the mission coordinator, CIS Deputy Secretary General Ilkhom Nematov, BelTA reports.

Ilhom Nematov noted:

The mission worked freely and independently, guided by the legislation of the Russian Federation, the documents of the Commonwealth on the principles of openness, neutrality, non-interference in the internal affairs of the country and compliance with the electoral legislation of the Russian Federation.

According to the mission, the voting and counting of votes took place calmly and in an orderly manner, in full compliance with the requirements of the legislation. “The CIS observers did not record any violations that could have affected the voting results and the results of the elections. The Commonwealth Observer Mission concludes that the elections of deputies of the 9th State Duma held at a high organizational level, in full compliance with the electoral legislation of the Russian Federation, were fair, open, transparent, competitive and corresponded to the generally recognized principles of democratic elections, ensured the implementation of the right of citizens of the Russian Federation to free expression of will.

The CIS mission includes 207 observers, the largest mission of international observers in the elections to the state Duma. During the three-day voting (September 18-20), the mission observed voting and counting at more than 1,300 polling stations in 20 regions of Russia and abroad.

The mission included representatives of the CIS Interparliamentary Assembly, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Union of Belarus and Russia, the CSTO Parliamentary Assembly, the Standing Committee of the Union State, the CIS Executive Committee, as well as diplomats and deputies of national parliaments.

Coordinator of observers from the Parliamentary Assembly of the Union of Belarus and Russia, Chairman of the Standing Committee of the House of Representatives of the National Assembly of Belarus on Economic Policy Viktor Nikolaikin drew attention to the high level of organization of the electoral process. “We have not recorded any significant shortcomings or violations that could affect the electoral process. The voting process met all the requirements of the legislation and generally accepted democratic norms, he said

Similar assessments were made by observation missions of other international structures. In particular, the head of the observer mission from the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, Deputy Secretary General of the SCO Piao Yangfan stated that the invitation of international observers is regarded by the mission as the desire of the Russian Federation to ensure maximum openness, transparency and democracy of the parliamentary elections. The mission states that the elections of State Duma deputies met the requirements of the electoral legislation of the Russian Federation and the international obligations assumed by the country. The Mission itself did not record violations of national legislation that could have cast doubt on the legitimacy of the elections or affected the outcome. The mission recognizes the elections as transparent, credible and democratic, said Piao Yangfan.

The SCO mission included a member of the Standing Commission of the Council of the Republic of the National Assembly of Belarus on International Affairs and National Security Alla Smolyak. In her opinion, the CEC of Russia conducted a huge preparatory work to ensure that the elections were held in a calm atmosphere. “The elections are legitimate, they were held at the highest level,” said Alla Smolyak.

Belarusian diplomats and parliamentarians take part in observation of parliamentary elections in Russia