OSCE parliamentarians to observe Russian Duma elections on 19 December

COPENHAGEN, 3 December 1999 - The Parliamentary Assembly of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe will send more than 100 observers to the Russian Duma elections on 19 December 1999.

The parliamentary observation team includes representatives from the parliaments of 20 OSCE countries, including Armenia, Austria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Sweden, Ukraine and the United Kingdom. The team also includes representatives of other international parliaments including the Nordic Council and the Baltic Sea Parliamentary Conference.

Prior to election day, the parliamentarians will attend an extensive briefing programme organized by the International Secretariat of the Assembly in close co-operation with the Russian State Duma. The parliamentarians will meet with the Chairman of the Central Election Commission, leaders of the main political parties, representatives of the mass media, observers and experts.

On election day, the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly will deploy observer teams to several areas including Moscow, St. Petersburg, Novosibirsk, Krasnoyarsk, Murmansk, Nizhny Novgorod and Khabarovsk.

The observation mission will be headed by Mrs. Helle Degn (MP Denmark), President of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, who acts as the Special Representative of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office in connection with the OSCE observation of the parliamentary elections in the Russian Federation. On Monday 20 December, President Degn will deliver the OSCE Preliminary Post-Election Statement (location and time will be announced later).

The OSCE Parliamentary Assembly includes over 300 parliamentarians from 54 countries. The Assembly has developed a particularly active programme for monitoring parliamentary elections. Starting with the 1993 Parliamentary elections in Russia, more than 800 OSCE parliamentarians, from over forty member states, have monitored numerous parliamentary elections. The present OSCE Election Observation Mission to Russia is a joint effort between the Parliamentary Assembly of the OSCE and the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) and includes long- and short-term observers from OSCE participating States.For further information and requests for interviews with OSCE parliamentary observers please contact OSCE PA Press Counsellor Jan R.M. Jooren at the International Secretariat in Copenhagen (Tel.+45 33 37 80 40, Fax+45 33 37 80 30) or at the Savoy Hotel in Moscow from 15 December (Tel. + 7 095 929 8500/8555, Fax + 7 095 929 8665); website: www.oscepa.org