SCO Secretary General Rashid Alimov had a meeting with the Russian Central Election Commission's Chairperson Ella Pamfilova during the afternoon of 14 March 2018.
Ms Pamfilova thanked Mr Alimov for his decision to head the SCO Observer Mission whose members would monitor the preparations and holding of the Russian presidential elections. She noted the SCO's large-scale efforts to monitor the upcoming elections in Russia.
Mr Alimov thanked Ms Pamfilova for the invitation to SCO representatives to come to Russia and monitor an important political event that has global significance. The Organisation focuses on practical work in member-states, he noted.
"The upcoming elections of the Russian head of state, scheduled to be held on 18 March 2018, are a key event in global politics. The SCO attaches particular significance to the activities of its Observer Mission, and we intend to work in a high-quality and unbiased manner and to submit an objective assessment of election process later on," Mr Alimov noted.
He informed Ms Pamfilova on the Mission's work concept that encompasses all aspects of the election process.
‘Our organisation consistently expands the election monitoring process, and we strive to ensure the high-quality work of election observers during every election process on the basis of the most advanced international oversight practices and with due consideration of our own experience. In the run-up to the elections in Russia, we have drafted a special monitoring concept that aims to provide objective assessments and to cover various Russian regions from Vladivostok to St Petersburg," Mr Alimov noted.
He also added that Mission members were already working in six federal districts. On 18 March, the observers will visit polling stations in Moscow and the Moscow Region, in St Petersburg and the Leningrad Region, in the Krasnodar and Primorye territories, in the Republic of Tatarstan and the Republic of Adygea, in the Ryazan, Vladimir, Kaluga, Novosibirsk and Irkutsk regions. There are plans to meet with the heads of election districts and polling stations, with observers from international organisations and states, political parties and public organisations, journalists and voters. Mr Alimov underscored that the "SCO Mission believed that elections were not being held for the sake of observing them, but to enable voters to express their free will and determine the development trajectory the Russian Federation will take in the next term."
During their detailed conversation, Mr Alimov and Ms Pamfilova touched upon legal aspects of organising the work of foreign observers in the Russian Federation prior to the elections and on voting day.