Russia Invites 300 International Observers to Elections

Russian authorities confirmed on Thursday that 300 international observers would participate in the State Duma elections, the lower house of the parliament.

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The vice president of the Council of the Federation (Senate) of Russia, Konstantin Kosachev, explained that all commissions accepted the conditions of the Russian government but the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).

According to the Russian constitution, international observers can monitor the elections, as the authorities remarked that there were no discriminatory conditions. "They were invited to our country on equal terms with the rest of the participants," Kosachev said to local media outlets.

"We regret that the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights decided not to send observers to Russia to monitor the State Duma elections," the government said via Twitter. Kosachev noticed that only 35 out of the 57 OSCE country members, including Russia, recognize international observation as an institutional figure.