POLAND/FILE: Europe's election watchdog reluctantly accepts Russia's vote monitor curbs

Officials at the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe, the election watchdog OSCE, says limitations placed on its monitoring of Russia's parliamentary elections could hamper any assessment. Monitor numbers will be slashed to less than a quarter of those admitted for the country's 2003 elections. The OSCE only received Russia's invitation on Wednesday (November 7), two months late. Speaking in Warsaw, Urdur Gunnarsdottir, spokeswoman for the OSCE, explained why it had had its hands tied. Russia's restrictions meant it was no longer the OSCE that was deciding how many people would monitor the elections which are expected to highlight President Vladimir Putin's strong hold on power. Gunnarsdottir said the OSCE had never known anything like this before. Opinion polls suggest Putin's United Russia bloc will win a huge majority. Opponents say increased state domination of news media give the bloc an undemocratic edge. Putin, popular for his moves to restore central control after the chaos of the immediate post-Soviet years, must step down as president when his second termnext year. But he has hinted he might use parliament as a continued power base. Gunnarsdottir said Russia's conditions were accepted "reluctantly" because there was no time left for negotiations. Diplomats in the OSCE see Russia's new restrictions as part of a Kremlin campaign to roll back what it regards as efforts to impose Western influence in the vast former Soviet region.

ITN Source | November 8, 2007

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