DUSHANBE, September 3 (Itar-Tass) — Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said that OSCE international observers on holding elections and referendums in CIS countries show blatantly politicised approach; as a result, it is necessary to consolidate the role of observer missions from the CIS.
“Observers, sent in line with procedures of the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), are, as a rule, delegations, consisting of a huge number of people, and international observers who come from the OSCE, sometimes, frankly demonstrate a politicised approach to assessing preparation and holding of elections,” said on Saturday the Russian leader at an enlarged meeting of the Council of the CIS heads of state in Dushanbe.
He added: “This approach, no need to conceal this, is based very often on double standards.”
The Russian president noted that in this connection, it is necessary to consolidate the role of the appropriate mission of CIS observers. “All of us seek to hold free and democratic elections. But this does not mean an open road for any outside force in the sense of forming from abroad a domestic situation in our countries,” Medvedev underlined.
The president emphasised that the organisation of observers on elections and referendums in CIS countries carried out campaigns in eight states the last and current years, including in Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Moldova. “Appropriate campaigns will be held in Kyrgyzstan and Russia by the year-end, while in 2012 – in Turkmenistan, Armenia and Ukraine,” he went on to say.
Medvedev regards as bloated delegations, coming from the OSCE to monitor elections in CIS countries. According to the Russian chief executive, other countries where there are definite problems, receive delegations from the ODIHR, consisting of 10-15 people, while “our countries are visited by 300-500 people”.
“I believe that the observer mission on elections from the CIS as well as a group of observers from the CIS International Assembly have been successfully operating in our states,” the head of state claimed.
Medvedev stressed that an increased role of the appropriate missions from the CIS “will be beneficial to our countries and will contribute to a greater degree to consolidation of democracy and all-round development of political systems of our states”.