The Federation Council Committee on Foreign Affairs held a field meeting.
The Federation Council Committee on Foreign Affairs held a field meeting on the sidelines of the CIS IPA events held in St Petersburg on 21–22 November. The meeting was titled “Promoting the institution of international observation of elections and referendums: the role of the International Institute for Monitoring Democracy Development, Parliamentarianism and Suffrage Protection of Citizens of IPA CIS Member Nations.”
Russian senators Vladimir Dzhabarov, Yelena Afanaseva, Alexander Terentyev, Natalia Nikonorova, and Oleg Tsepkin, as well as officials from federal executive bodies and the Civic Chamber of the Russian Federation, participated in this meeting chaired by Federation Council Committee Chair Grigory Karasin.
According to Grigory Karasin, the Federation Council regularly highlights the importance of improving international election and referendum observation mechanisms. “This matter takes on a particular sense of urgency with the world on its way to becoming multipolar, and the collective West pushing back in an effort to preserve its global dominance,” he said.
To provide an example, Grigory Karasin cited the policies pursued by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (OSCE ODIHR), which continues to work energetically within the Commonwealth space. “ODIHR assessments of electoral processes often contain conclusions and recommendations that are inconsistent with international obligations and state constitutions. The practice of combining the ODIHR missions’ conclusions with unacceptable political declarations continues unabated,” the senator said.
The legislator emphasised that the Commonwealth of Independent States has long had a fair alternative to the Western-centred monitoring mechanisms which is the Convention on the Standards of Democratic Elections, Electoral Rights and Freedoms in the Member States of the Commonwealth of Independent States and the International Institute for Monitoring Democracy Development, Parliamentarianism and Suffrage Protection of Citizens of IPA CIS Member Nations (IPA CIS IIMDD) as a full-fledged and international entity of high standing that organises observation of electoral processes in the Commonwealth based on this Convention.
Grigory Karasin also said that the Federation Council has repeatedly highlighted the importance of taking system-wide steps to ensure that the expertise in organising election monitoring gained by the Commonwealth is more widely used by its partners from the Global Majority countries with the support of IPA CIS IIMDD specialists.
“The international election monitoring mechanisms tested in the CIS, the development of scientifically substantiated recommendations for election organisation with the participation of IPA CIS IIMDD, accession of new countries outside the Commonwealth to the Convention can serve as a serious contribution to strengthening multipolarity, protection of sovereignty of the Global Majority states,” Grigory Karasin stressed.
According to Oleg Tsepkin, all CIS member states are currently facing foreign policy challenges, which can be overcome by effective joint solutions. “The IPA CIS IIMDD can be safely called a platform for generalising and disseminating such experiences. This auxiliary advisory body provides expert support for the IPA CIS representatives in observing preparations for and holding elections, including the analysis of electoral legislation for compliance with international democratic standards, as well as the compilation of best practices.”
The senator noted that over 17 years, the Institute representatives have participated more than a hundred times in monitoring elections and referendums in the IPA CIS member states and outside the Commonwealth, such as the Republic of Serbia, the Mongolian People’s Republic, and the Republic of Nicaragua. “In recent years, the geography of observation at foreign polling stations has significantly expanded, which allowed the Institute to reach a new level of scientific research. The operation of its branches in Baku, Bishkek, Yerevan and Kishinev ensure the Institute’s success. It is not by chance that the activities of the IPA CIS IIMDD are being opposed to the work of another entity — the OSCE ODIHR — that carries out observations on a mass scale,” Oleg Tsepkin said.
According to Alexander Terentyev, stepping up international cooperation of the Global Majority countries in countering external interference in the internal affairs of sovereign states through monitoring of electoral processes is high on the list of priorities.
“It would be a good idea to initiate the creation of an international formation uniting efforts to monitor human rights and electoral processes, which adheres to international law, equality and respect for the national interests of the countries. Initially, due to the different “traditions” of the BRICS countries in the electoral sphere, the emphasis could be placed on developing bilateral cooperation in the field of electoral monitoring with the BRICS countries and partners, the ones that stand ready to develop such cooperation. This project could eventually start broad cooperation within BRICS given the common values and understanding of a fair international order,” Alexander Terentyev said.
The field meeting participants reviewed practical steps to implement the Federation Council recommendations, discussed ways to step up the IPA CIS IIMDD’s cooperation with the CEC of Russia, the Civic Chamber of the Russian Federation, the Foreign Ministry of Russia, and the CIS IPA Council Secretariat with the CIS countries’ foreign ministries in order for them to include in their agenda the efforts to popularise the experience of organising election monitoring gained by the CIS countries.