Elections under the supervision of: how experts organize monitoring September 10
MOSCOW, September 8 — RIA Novosti. Russian human rights activists and experts in a single voting day on 10 September is traditionally delegate observers to the sites through referrals from parties and candidates, and organize a public headquarters, as well as test some innovations in electoral legislation, new technical capabilities and being tested for the first time to monitor the format of the online marathon.
Elections of different levels will be held in Russia in the uniform voting day on September 10 in 82 out of 85 regions, including in 16 regions will elect their governors in six to be elected by regional parliaments. On this day appointed and by-elections of deputies of the state Duma of the seventh convocation in single-member districts two — Kingisepp (Leningrad region) and Bryansk.
Public surveillance in Russia is not provided by Federal laws, to appoint observers from public associations the law allows only some of the subjects of the Russian Federation. Traditionally observers on polling districts parties and candidates participating in the elections.
This year the single day of voting, almost a third of the regions will be under the gun cameras: as reported, 25 regions, including Moscow, organize video surveillance in the areas.
However, the focus on the campaign and the voting day focused many enterprises observers, human rights activists and experts.
Human rights defenders
A few years ago to monitor the electoral campaigns joined the presidential Council on human rights (HRC) and the Institute of the Commissioner for human rights, including regional ombudsmen. Established in the HRC monitoring working group, which was responsible for the compilation and analysis of information about the conflict due to violations of electoral rights and assistance in resolution of these conflicts, has worked in a single voting day 2015 last year’s parliamentary elections.
“In the upcoming elections we will also work in the regions. The challenge that we face is to attempt to cover as all 22 regions in which elections will be held in the state bodies”, — told RIA Novosti co-Chairman of the monitoring group, the head of the Russian public Institute of electoral law (ROIIP) Igor Borisov.
He said that we are talking about regions, where 10 of the September elections of governors and deputies of the legislative Assembly, and the two regions where will take place elections in the state Duma. The monitoring group is not overlooked, and Moscow, where will take place elections in local councils of deputies. “The level of election, may be not so high, but as a Metropolitan region, the attention we pay special,” added Borisov.
A member of the HRC noted that the results of the work, the defenders would prepare a consolidated report, which would send the election officials and legislators.
As for ROIIP, the organization will traditionally perform more in-depth research, to prepare reports analyzing the different aspects of the electoral process, summarizing the practice, said Borisov.
Will continue the practice of monitoring election campaigns at the Institute of the Ombudsman. This year will be traditionally organized a “hot line”, except on the initiative of the Ombudsman Tatiana Moskalkova established a monitoring working group that September 10 will be promptly trace the message about violation of electoral rights and to take action.
Twenty-thousand observers
Representatives of some public unions are traditionally present in the stations as observers from political parties and candidates, and often this is a very impressive corps of observers.
Most activists are planning this year to use the Association “national public monitoring” (GCF), which included several organizations such as the corps of observers “For clean elections” and “Russia chooses”.
It was reported that at the polling stations on election day will work about 15 thousand representatives of NOM. According to the coordinator of the Association of Roman Kolomeitseva, for observation created a special information system, portal and mobile app that allow real-time monitoring.
The head of the Executive Committee of the corps “For clean elections” Alena Bulgakova told that their representatives will be present at some polling stations as observers from parties and candidates, and somewhere will be members of precinct election commissions with deliberative vote. As a key for monitoring identified six regions — Primorsky Krai, Tomsk, Sverdlovsk, Yaroslavl, Ryazan region and Sevastopol.