ODIHR final report on Russia’s presidential election recommends bringing legislation on fundamental freedoms and candidate rights in line with OSCE commitments

On 6 June 2018, the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) published the final report on the 18 March 2018 presidential election in the Russian Federation.  The report recommends that, in order to improve the electoral process, national legislation on fundamental freedoms and political, including candidates’ rights, be brought in line with OSCE commitments and other obligations, and that these rights and freedoms be fully respected by the authorities.

The report states that in order to increase public confidence in the electoral process efforts should be made to ensure election administration bodies are transparent, impartial and independent. 

It also recommends ensuring that all contestants in elections have equal opportunities and that restrictions on the right to be a candidate, which conflict with OSCE commitments and other international obligations and standards, should be removed. In addition, the report recommends that the authorities take decisive action to prevent voters from being pressured and investigate cases of alleged coercion, with a view to prosecuting those responsible.

The report recommends that media outlets should be free to establish their own editorial policies, and that the independence of public media should be strengthened. To that end, it recommends the creation of an independent body for media oversight.

The report notes that the legal framework for the presidential election is comprehensive, and recent amendments addressed some previous ODIHR recommendations. However, further efforts are needed to follow up on outstanding recommendations. For example, the report reiterates a previous recommendation that legislation should guarantee non-partisan citizen observers the opportunity to independently scrutinize the electoral process. 

The ODIHR Election Observation Mission joined efforts with the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly delegation to observe voting on election day.