State Duma elections, 19 September 2021

In anticipation of an official invitation from the authorities of the Russian Federation to observe the State Duma elections planned to be held on 19 September 2021, and in accordance with its mandate, the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) undertook a Needs Assessment Mission (NAM) from 31 May to 4 June. The ODIHR NАМ included Ulvi Akhundlu, Deputy Head of Election Department, Vladimir Misev, ODIHR Senior Adviser on New Voting Technologies, and Kseniya Dashutsina, ODIHR Election Adviser. The NAM was joined by Andreas Baker, Head of Elections of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly.

The purpose of the mission was to assess the pre-election environment and the preparations for the parliamentary elections. Based on this assessment, the NAM should recommend whether to deploy an ODIHR election-related activity for the forthcoming elections, and if so, what type of activity best meets the identified needs. Meetings were held with officials from state institutions, as well as with representatives of political parties, media, civil society, and international organizations. A list of meetings is annexed to this report.