Preliminary results of international observation of the State Duma elections are summed up

On September 20, 2021 in the Information Centre of the CEC of Russia took place the preliminary summary of the results of international observation of the elections of deputies of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation of the eighth convocation.

Pavel Andreev, a member of the CEC of Russia, said that representatives of various countries and institutions took part in the international observation: election organisers, members of parliaments, expert community.

"245 observers from 59 countries were accredited by the CEC of Russia, 55 diplomats were accredited in Moscow," Pavel Andreev reminded.

Head of Commonwealth observation mission Ilhom Nematov highly appreciated the innovations applied by the CEC of Russia in the election process: three days of voting, use of remote electronic voting, installation of video cameras at 96 percent of polling stations and presence of observers and representatives of political parties at polling stations. On election days, 68 CIS observers visited 623 polling stations in various Russian regions.

"The innovations increased confidence and transparency of the election system and had a positive impact on voting," Ilhom Nematov said. “This ultimately helped to prevent various forms of fraud and insinuations by people who wanted to discredit the elections”.

Ilkhom Nematov said that the Election Observation Mission did not identify serious systemic violations that would have changed the outcome of the vote.

The final verdict of the CIS election assessment mission reads: "The CIS observation mission has come to the conclusion that the election of deputies to the State Duma was held in compliance with the electoral legislation in force in Russia. They followed the principles of democratic elections, were open and competitive, and ensured the free expression of will of citizens of the Russian Federation".

"The parliamentary elections in the Russian Federation are a major event not only in political life in Russia itself, but also for the entire Commonwealth", Ilhom Nematov stressed.

The head of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation observer mission, Tynchtyk Shainazarov, said SCO observers did not find any irregularities questioning the legitimacy of the vote during the State Duma elections.

"All necessary conditions were provided for the mission to effectively observe the preparation and conduct of the elections, which demonstrates the openness and transparency of the electoral process," Shainazarov said.

The head of the mission underlined that the elections in Russia were held on the basis of free exercise by citizens of their rights to elect and be elected: "Changes in the Russian legislation contributed to further democratization, increase of transparency of the elections and creation of favourable conditions for the exercise of electoral rights. The elections complied with Russian legislation and the country's international commitments. The Mission did not observe any violations of the national legislation questioning the legitimacy of the elections. The Mission recognizes the elections as transparent, credible, and democratic.

During the exchange of opinions the heads of the electoral bodies of foreign countries who participated in the international observation of the elections assessed the use of innovative technologies as an important aspect of the transparency of the electoral process, as well as the high organizational level of preparation of the elections. It was generally agreed that the State Duma elections were conducted within the framework of the law and the international standard of electoral rights, in accordance with democratic norms.