Russia Excludes OSCE Observers From September Elections

Russia will not allow the OSCE’s main election-monitoring body to observe its upcoming parliamentary elections, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova confirmed Thursday, accusing the organization of applying “double standards.”

The Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) “will not participate” in international observation of Russia’s September elections for that reason, Zakharova said during a Foreign Ministry briefing on Thursday.

She claimed Russia was nevertheless fulfilling its international obligations by inviting other organizations and representatives from individual OSCE participating states to observe the vote.

Russia will hold voting for the State Duma from Sept. 18 to 20, with the main election day scheduled for Sept. 20.

The OSCE has sharply rejected Moscow’s justification, saying Russia’s failure to invite an official observation mission violates commitments it accepted under the 1990 Copenhagen Document.

“The decision not to extend an invitation … is deeply regrettable,” ODIHR Director Maria Telalian said earlier this month.

The organization said it had attempted to engage Russian authorities ahead of the elections, including over the deployment of a standard pre-election assessment mission, but received no substantive response.

Third election without OSCE scrutiny

The September vote will mark the third consecutive nationwide Russian election that the OSCE has been unable to observe.

Russia did not invite OSCE observers for its 2024 presidential election, while restrictions imposed by Moscow prevented the organization from deploying a mission for the 2021 State Duma elections.

The OSCE said the continued absence of independent monitoring reduces transparency and deprives Russian voters and the international community of an impartial assessment of the electoral process.

It also pointed to tighter restrictions imposed since the previous parliamentary elections, including measures affecting candidates designated as “foreign agents,” campaign financing and the ability of political parties to appoint representatives at polling stations.

Independent domestic election monitoring has also been severely curtailed. The Golos election watchdog, which documented alleged irregularities in previous Russian votes, was ultimately dissolved following sustained pressure from authorities.

Voting planned in occupied Ukraine

Russia also plans to conduct the State Duma vote in Ukrainian territories it occupies, including parts of the Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions.

Russia’s Central Election Commission formally approved holding the election in those territories despite martial law.

The OSCE condemned the move, saying any Russian-organized elections in temporarily occupied Ukrainian territory “will have no validity under international law.”

It said such voting violates Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity within its internationally recognized borders.

Russia claimed to annex Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions in 2022 following Kremlin-organized referendums that Ukraine and its Western partners rejected as illegal and illegitimate.

Despite Moscow’s refusal to invite an observation mission, ODIHR said it would continue monitoring developments surrounding the election within the limits of its mandate.

Last OSCE mission found serious irregularities

The March 18, 2018 presidential election, won by Vladimir Putin, was the last Russian nationwide vote observed by the OSCE/ODIHR. Its final report described an “overly controlled” political environment lacking genuine competition and documented voter pressure, ballot-box stuffing and other electoral irregularities.