IPA CIS Observers Conduct Long-Term Monitoring of Presidential Elections in Russia

The meeting of the monitoring group was held at the Election Commission of the Leningrad region. The observers discussed with the leadership of the Commission innovations in terms of informing about the elections, the possibility of voting for people living abroad and other issues.

The meeting was attended by deputy Secretaries General of the IPA CIS Council — Plenipotentiary Representatives of the Parliaments of Azerbaijan, Armenia and Kazakhstan in the Interparliamentary Assembly of the CIS Member Nations: Aydin Jafarov, Hayk Chilingaryan, Igor Musalimov, as well as observers from Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and China, experts of the International Institute for Monitoring Democracy Development, Parliamentarism and Suffrage Protection of Citizens of the IPA CIS Member Nations (IPA CIS IIMDD).

Deputy Head of the IPA CIS Council Secretariat — IPA CIS IIMDD Director Ivan Mushket informed the participants of the meeting that observers from the Assembly — MPs and experts of the IPA CIS IIMDD — had been accredited by the Central Electoral Commission of the Russian Federation (CEC) to date. They would conduct monitoring not only in Russia, but also at foreign polling stations in Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Vietnam and other countries. The IPA CIS IIMDD Director stressed that the IPA CIS observers always adhere to the principles of objectivity, effective assistance and non-interference in the electoral process.

Chair of the Election Commission of the Leningrad Region Mikhail Lebedinskiy spoke in detail about how the region is preparing for the presidential elections.

The first vote will be held on 4 March — more than 60 residents of remote islands in the Gulf of Finland will vote ahead of schedule.

Since 2017, voters in the region have been using the “Mobile Voter” system, which has replaced absentee ballots and allows to vote at a polling station convenient for the voter.

Speaking about measures to ensure transparency of elections, the Head of the regional Election Commission noted that round-the-clock video surveillance will be organized at all polling stations. From more than half — 528 polling stations — a live broadcast will be carried out on the CEC portal and to the Public Monitoring Center.

Deputy Chair of the Civic Chamber of the Leningrad region Vladimir Zhuravlev told the observers that each of the 1000 polling stations in the region will be covered by public monitoring — about three thousand public observers were trained for this purpose. Mobile groups will work during the voting days.

The technology that is planned to be used for visually impaired voters in Gatchina in the Leningrad region was of particular interest to international observers. A special device will enable citizens with disabilities to vote at the polling station.

Mikhail Lebedinskiy said that the Commission had decided to open a special polling station on the Russian border in Ivangorod, which has a pedestrian crossing from the Estonian town of Narva where Russians living abroad will be able to vote.

The presidential elections of Russia will be held on 15-17 March 2024. The IPA CIS observers are monitoring the campaign at the invitation of Speaker of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation Vyacheslav Volodin.