Posted on 02/09/2008 8:18:27 PM PST by jdm
MOSCOW — Europe's main election watchdog cancelled plans yesterday to monitor Russia's presidential election, citing unacceptable restrictions imposed by Moscow.
Dmitry Medvedev, an ally of outgoing President Vladimir Putin, is the overwhelming favourite to win the March 2 contest, which opponents of the Kremlin say is slanted in his favour.
"We made every effort in good faith to deploy our mission," said Christian Strohal, director of the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, in a statement. "The Russian Federation has created limitations that are not conducive to undertaking election observation."
A verdict from the ODIHR is regarded by Western states as the best yardstick of whether a vote is fair, and the group's withdrawal is likely to damage further Russia's democratic credentials.
The pullout follows weeks of argument. Russia said the monitors could arrive only 11 days before the vote but the watchdog, described by Russian officials as a tool of Western states, said they needed longer.
Russia said the ODIHR decision was unacceptable.
The parliamentary assembly of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe also said it would not monitor the vote. The assembly monitors elections jointly with the ODIHR, but usually plays a junior role.
"Unless there is a miracle and the Foreign Minister comes and says, 'Take as many [observers] as you want into Russia,' the mission is off," Mr. Strohal said.
"We are a small group that stands around politely and looks at the [election] process. If the big Russian Federation is afraid of that, well, I can't believe that," he said in Vienna.
The only official Western observer group that has not pulled out is a team from the Council of Europe, which does not usually take the lead in monitoring major elections.
In a statement, Russia's Foreign Ministry said ODIHR had displayed "contempt for basic ethical norms ... which, it seems, indicates that ODIHR from the start was not even trying to agree on mutually acceptable conditions for monitoring."
Last year, the ODIHR pulled out of monitoring Russia's parliamentary election over similar issues, though the OSCE's parliamentary assembly did send a team. Mr. Putin's United Russia party won a landslide victory.
The European Union said it attached great importance to credible international election observation and that it regretted the ODIHR would not be going to Russia.
Where’s Jimmah?
Don’t worry, Jimmy Carter will ride in on his white snail to do the job. He’s signed off on more communist sham elections that anyone I know.
Exactly!
Why does the organization acronym sound a lot like Oh Dear?
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