Russia limits election monitors

MOSCOW, Nov. 1 (UPI) -- The body in charge of conducting and overseeing elections in Russia said it would limit the number of European monitors for upcoming state Duma elections.

The Central Elections Commission of Russia told the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe that its observer mission in the Duma elections next month would be limited in size and term, the Moscow Times reported Thursday.

Urdur Gunnarsdottir, an OSCE spokeswoman, told the Times the commission's invitation was for only 70 monitors who would “take part in a short-term observation” of the estimated 95,000 polling stations. The 2003 elections in Russia included 400 short-term and 50 long-term observers.

“This is not monitoring, but presenting the impression that international observers are allowed in," Lilia Shibanova, director of a group of nongovernmental organizations observing elections, said of the proposed limited outside presence.

But Igor Borisov, a member of the Central Elections Commission, said more observers would paint an incorrect picture of Russia’s transition to democracy.

“We were never radicals and will never deviate from the numbers of observers common for civilized states, which is somewhere between 300 and 400,” the Interfax news agency quotes Borisov.