On 13 March 2018, the Observer Mission of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation led by Secretary-General Rashid Alimov started monitoring the presidential election campaign in Russia. The mission comprises observers from the SCO member states and the SCO Secretariat.
They are inspecting the readiness of the polling stations for the upcoming election. They will also monitor the voting process on March 18, the vote counting and also polls of voters after they have cast their ballots, as well as of the presidential candidates' representatives and other observers.
The SCO observer mission has been deployed to six federal districts across Russia, from Vladivostok to St Petersburg.
The SCO Observer Mission has deployed observers to Russia at the invitation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation and in keeping with the Regulations on SCO Observer Mission at Presidential and/or Parliamentary Elections and Referendums, dated 15 May 2006.