SCO Secretary-General: Members of the SCO Observer Mission visited 782 polling stations. The 2018 Russian presidential election was transparent, credible and democratic and was held in accordance with the electoral legislation and Russia’s international obligations

A news conference by SCO Secretary-General Rashid Alimov and members of the SCO Observer Mission on the results of the Russian presidential election was held today at the TASS main office in Moscow.

In his opening remarks, the SCO Secretary-General noted that overseeing presidential and parliamentary elections as well as referendums was one of the organisation's main tasks. The SCO has formed 43 observer missions since 2004, with six in the Russian Federation.

Rashid Alimov regards the invitation of international observers, including those from the SCO, as the Russian leadership's desire to provide for the maximum openness, transparency and democracy of presidential elections.

Journalists learned that the SCO Mission, led by the Secretary-General, had 26 accredited observes, who were experienced and highly qualified representatives from legislative and executive bodies of the SCO member states (China, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan) as well as diplomats from the seven countries working at the SCO Secretariat.

"Our mission functioned in accordance with the SCO Regulations on SCO Observer Missions in presidential and/or parliamentary elections, as well as referendums as well as the principle of political neutrality, objectiveness and non-interference in internal affairs, in strict compliance with the Russian Federation's national legislation," the SCO Secretary-General said.

Members of the mission observed the election process in Moscow and St Petersburg, as well as in the Vladimir, Irkutsk, Kaluga, Moscow, Novosibirsk, Ryazan, Leningrad and Tula regions, the Primorye and Krasnodar territories, the Republic of Tatarstan and the Republic of Adygea in order to get an overview of the election.

The mission analysed the electoral legislation of the Russian Federation thoroughly. Special attention was paid to the measures to update this legislation in Russia after important changes following the previous election. According to Mr Alimov, the amended electoral legislation has influenced the organisation of the election process positively. The mission focused on the work done by the Central Electoral Commission to organise voting for citizens who were abroad on the eve of and the day of the election. For the first time, the necessary voting conditions were created at 401 polling stations in 145 countries.

The SCO Secretary-General said, "On the eve of and on the election day, the members of the SCO Observer Mission visited 782 polling stations in 14 Russian regions from Vladivostok to St Petersburg. I managed to visit 17 polling stations in the Ryazan Region," Mr Alimov noted.

"The results of the mission's work are presented in the statement prepared and approved by consensus today at midnight. The full text of the statement will be submitted to the Russian Central Electoral Commission in the afternoon and later posted on the SCO's official website," Mr Alimov said.

The SCO Secretary-General said on behalf of the Observer Mission that "the Russian presidential election was held in accordance with Russian electoral legislation and the country's international obligations. The election was transparent, credible and democratic. It is an important step forward in the development of democratic processes in the Russian Federation."

The SCO Secretary General congratulated the people of Russia on electing the president and wished them success in promoting independence, sovereignty and social and economic development as well as prosperity and new achievements in all areas of Russian society.

The members of the mission from all the SCO member states who observed the election were present at the news conference. They shared their impressions from their visits to polling stations in various Russian regions.