OSCE sends in Russia vote monitors

Vote monitors from Europe’s OSCE security body launched a mission in Russia on Thursday ahead of the March 4 presidential election that follows much-criticised December parliamentary polls.

“Today is officially our first day of operation,” the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe’s mission chief Heidi Tagliavini told reporters.

The OSCE reported a “lack of level playing field” and frequent violations in December’s elections, which were won by Prime Minister Vladimir Putin’s ruling United Russia party by a narrow margin.

The mass protests that followed those results have been the largest of Putin’s 12-year rule and threaten to complicate his likely return to the presidency, which he first held in 2000-2008.

Putin responded to the protests by offering to mount web cameras at polling stations in a surprise initiative.

While calling the idea “interesting,” the OSCE mission chief said it was unlikely to prevent fraud.

“A web camera actually fixes what you can see,” Tagiavini said. “But what is interesting is what is not captured, it’s the count (of the votes), the completion of the protocols.”

The presidential campaign has already been marred by the likely expulsion of liberal challener Grigory Yavlinsky and renewed pressure on Western-funded Russian election watchdog Golos, which has lost its office lease.

The OSCE’s report on the December election prompted President Dmitry Medvedev to declare that monitors have “no business” discussing Russia’s political system.