CSTO PA to Conduct Largest-Ever Monitoring of Russia's State Duma Elections

The CSTO Parliamentary Assembly's monitoring group will conduct its largest-ever monitoring effort at the Russian Federation's State Duma elections. Observers will be stationed not only in the capital and the Moscow region, but also overseas, at the polling stations of the Organization's Member States.

The mission's main group, headed by Rustam Shokhmurod, representative of Tajikistan, will focus on on-site monitoring in the Moscow region. The main group consists of esteemed parliamentarians and experts: Vladimir Bespaly (Belarus), Konstantin Avershin (Kazakhstan), Maksat Alymbekov (Kyrgyz Republic), Kudrat Davlatzoda (Tajikistan) and Dušan Bajatović (Republic of Serbia). Their key task is to ensure ongoing, objective on-site monitoring of electoral compliance. The CSTO PA Secretariat, led by Executive Secretary Sergei Pospelov, will oversee the smooth running of the mission and provide organizational support for the observers in Moscow.

A vital feature of this year’s observer effort will be the mission’s active work overseas, aimed to protect that the voting rights of the Russian citizens living abroad.

Belarusian MP Igor Pashkov will start monitoring at the Russian Embassy in Minsk, while MPs Elena Stalbovskaya and Oksana Prikhodko will oversee the transparency of the electoral process in Grodno and Bobruysk. At the Russian Consulate-General in Brest, CSTO parliamentarians Aleksandr Korkotadze and Valentina Pukh will ensure that strict voting regulations are observed.

The CSTO Parliamentary Assembly's international monitoring extends beyond Eastern Europe to the countries of Central Asia. MP Oljas Quspekov will work at the polling station at the Russian Embassy in Astana, and MP Nuriddin Mukhiddin will monitor the electoral process in Dushanbe.

This extensive observer network allows the CSTO PA mission to cover every key stage of the voting process and, once ballots are counted, provide the most thorough, documented and objective overview of the election campaign. 

Follow the monitoring effort on the Assembly’s official Tg-channel @pacsto and the official website, pacsto.org.