CSTO PA observers reviewed the Public Election Observation Centre in St Petersburg

International observers of the CSTO PA visited the Public Observation Centre set up at Nevskaya Ratusha to monitor the elections to the Russian State Duma and St Petersburg Legislative Assembly.
The observers reviewed the work of the Centre, talked to the management and asked questions. According to the observers from the CSTO PA, the Centre has workplaces for representatives of parties participating in the election campaign. The Centre’s volunteer operators closely monitor the video feed from the precinct election commissions observing the voting process and in case of discrepancies show it on the big screen for experts to analyse. If direct intervention is required, an investigation team may be deployed. Up to eight potential incidents can be dealt with at the same time: the room has eight screens which can display high resolution images. In the course of the discussion with the management of the Centre and a representative of the St Petersburg Civic Chamber, the CSTO PA observers clarified technical capabilities of the system, inquired about the specificities of equipment operation, functionality of the Centre and the level of training of volunteers.
In addition to visiting the Public Observation Centre, representatives of the parliaments of CSTO Member States visited a number of precinct election commissions and Smolny, where they spoke with Aleksandr Belsky, vice-governor of St Petersburg.