Russia: Elections

Lord Judd
asked Her Majesty's Government:

What is their assessment of the role of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe and the Council of Europe in the monitoring of the forthcoming Russian elections. [HL87]

The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Lord Malloch-Brown)
We welcome the participation of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) and the Council of Europe in International Election Observation Missions. We greatly value the independence and professionalism of the OSCE’s Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) and its election observation methodology and equally value the knowledge and experience of parliamentary observers representing the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly and the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.

We share the concerns of the OSCE about unprecedented Russian restrictions on international observation of their 2 December Duma elections. We believe these restrictions will hamper the work of the OSCE/ODIHR and the Council of Europe in conducting an effective election-monitoring mission.