International Relations Students Told About IPA CIS Work on Monitoring Electoral Processes in Commonwealth

Students of the Faculty of International Relations of St. Petersburg State University of Economics (SPbSUE) were introduced to the work of the CIS Interparliamentary Assembly, its activities to strengthen the foundations of democracy and parliamentarism in the Commonwealth countries and new youth projects.

The meeting was held by Deputy Head of the IPA CIS Council Secretariat – Director of the International Institute for Monitoring Democracy Development, Parliamentarianism and Suffrage Protection of Citizens of IPA CIS Member Nations (IPA CIS IIMDD), Doctor of Law, Professor Ivan Mushket.

The Director of the IPA CIS IIMDD told the students about the history of the Assembly and the main directions of its work. He dwelled in more detail on the activities of the Institute he heads – monitoring elections and referendums, generalizing best practices in this area. An important area of the Institute's work is to enhance the legal culture of young voters, overcome youth absenteeism, disseminate knowledge about the principles of the democratic electoral process, as well as create and strengthen humanitarian ties between states.

The Head of the IPA CIS IIMDD spoke about the Institute's activities and projects in this direction: the educational course “International Observation of Elections and Referendums”, international scientific conferences in the format of scientific debates, the student Internet-Olympiad “Electoral Systems of the World’s Countries”, the International Olympiad in Humanities and Social Sciences for schoolchildren of the CIS countries, the Youth Parliamentary School, a quiz for schoolchildren “I Can Choose.”

In June last year, the work of the International Youth Electoral School “Elections in the Digital Era” was organized in Issyk-Kul. According to the Director of the Institute, this year the school will once again bring together students from the Commonwealth countries.

Ivan Mushket noted that the youth discussion club “Tavricheskiy” is gaining strength under the wing of the CIS Interparliamentary Assembly. The next meeting of the club will be held on 11 April, it will be dedicated to the institute of presidential power. The Director of the IPA CIS IIMDD invited the students of SPbSUE to participate in the discussions of the club.