Remote Electronic Voting, Attemps of External Interference and Innovations: Experts Discussed Results of Observation of Russian Presidential Election

The North-West Institute of Management of the Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration (NWIM RANEPA) hosted a round table “Monitoring the presidential elections of the Russian Federation”.

The organizers were the International Institute for Monitoring Democracy Development, Parliamentarianism and Suffrage Protection of Citizens of IPA CIS Member Nations (IPA CIS IIMDD) and the NWIM RANEPA.

The event was attended by the leadership and representatives of the Central and Regional Election Commissions of the Russian Federation, faculty and students of the NWIM RANEPA, international experts.

Opening the round table, Deputy Head of the IPA CIS Council Secretariat – Director of the IPA CIS IIMDD Ivan Musket said that the event was held to discuss the specifics of organizing monitoring of presidential elections both at the international and national levels.

The head of the Institute voiced the greeting of the Secretary General of the IPA CIS Council Dmitriy Kobitskiy. Stressed the recent presidential elections in Azerbaijan, Russia and Uzbekistan have shown that the institution of the President is a unifying factor in the Commonwealth countries. This is confirmed by the high voter turnout and the result of voting for the head of state.

Deputy Chair of the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation Nikolai Bulaev noted that the Russian electoral system has a structure that does not exist in any country in the world – it is as public and transparent as possible.

According to him, the activities of the election commissions were controlled by a large number of parties at the expense of their representatives. In addition, all meetings of the election commissions were broadcast on the Internet.

The Deputy Chair of the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation announced the exclusion of the possibility of using DEG (Remote Electronic Voting) abroad — all it addresses were carefully checked by specialists.

Director of the NWIM RANEPA Andrey Khlutkov noted that the venue for the round table was chosen for a reason - the academy interacts with the Assembly, and teachers and students take an active part in election campaigns. He also made a proposal to create a joint observer training center with the IPA CIS and the CEC of Russia.

Expert of the IPA CIS IIMDD, Professor of the Department of European Studies at the Faculty of International Relations of St. Petersburg State University Stanislav Tkachenko spoke about the results of the work of the group of the IPA CIS international observers in the presidential elections of Russia.

According to him, during the monitoring of the elections, observers found attempts of external interference in the process of preparation for the voting by the organizers of the elections, as well as in the campaign of candidates.

Expert of the IPA CIS IIMDD, Candidate of Law Alexander Potyakin said that the elections were in accordance with Russian legislation and documents adopted by the United Nations. The administrative authorities have created all conditions for citizens to exercise their right to vote.

Chair of the Election Commission of the Leningrad Region Mikhail Lebedinskiy  spoke about the observation of the IPA CIS Group of international observers. Representatives of Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Turkey, China and Syria visited a number of polling stations in the region. Among them is polling station No.380 with a special device for voting blind and visually impaired voters — a typhoon commentator.

The development of the electoral process is moving towards accessibility for voters, according to the Chair of the Commission of the Civic Chamber of the Russian Federation on Public Control and Work with Appeals of Citizens Alena Bulgakova.

She said that according to statistics, observers had previously participated in the election campaign on a one-time basis. However, their activity grows every year, and they become regular participants in these processes.

Deputy Dean of the Faculty of Public and Municipal Administration of the NWIM RANEPA Irina Belova presented the Academy's educational project “Active attitude to elections - active attitude to life” to the participants of the round table.

In conclusion, Ivan Musket invited all those present to join the international conference “Institute of Presidential Power in the CIS countries”, which will be held on 23 May, 2024.

The round table was also attended by the IPA CIS international observers, Chairs of regional election commissions, Director of the Bishkek branch of the IPA CIS IIMDD Nurbek Satvaldiev, Dean of the Faculty of Public and Municipal Administration of the NWIM RANEPA Anatoliy Likhtin and university students.