MOSCOW, September 18 (Itar-Tass) —— A deputy chairman of Russia’s Central Election Commission, Leonid Ivlev, has suggested putting in order the process of monitoring elections.
“The process of monitoring elections must be put in order. They must be properly trained,” he told a news briefing.
Ivlev said such a need stemmed from the great number of observers, who were sometimes present at polling stations. Even representatives from political parties complain about the lack of space. Ivlev said in some cases there emerged situations where there was no place for voters.
The deputy chief of the CEC believes it is obvious that representatives from the organizations that are active in the country’s political life should be present at the polling stations.
“Their charters must contain this rule,” he explained.
“Also, the organizations that exist on foreign grants must reflect this sphere of activity in appointing observers,” Ivlev said.
He believes that in the period of rapid growth of political parties observers may be appointed through these structures. Besides, Ivlev is certain that the monitoring can be carried out with the help of web-cameras.
“What’s the need for being crammed into the voting room at a time when the government spends heavily on video monitoring? Each has an opportunity to see what is happening in the room for voting, including vote-counting,” he said.
Ivlev expects the presence of a rather large number of observers.