MOSCOW, Feb. 29 (UPI) -- A spokesman for the OSCE said a 160-member team arrived Wednesday in Russia to monitor Sunday's presidential elections.
Jens Eschenbacher, a spokesman for the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, said the team was there to observe the election. A mission of 40 observers has been in the country monitoring the presidential campaign since January and the spokesman said the monitors would leave shortly after the contest, state-run news agency RIA Novosti reports.
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin faces challenges from four other candidates in the election. Putin, who served as president from 2000-08, is expected to win a third non-consecutive term.
The OSCE following December elections for the State Duma said the vote was technically "well-administered" but lacked overall fairness.
Opposition leaders have accused Putin and his supporters of rigging a series of recent elections and say they're wary of a repeat in the Sunday contest.
Moscow this week said "members of a criminal gang" affiliated with Doku Umbarov, dubbed the Chechen Osama bin Laden, were arrested after plotting to assassinate Putin.
