Presidential Election, 4 March 2012
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Mission at a glance
- Head of Mission: Ambassador Heidi Tagliavini
- Core team of 15 experts, based in Moscow
- 40 long-term observers deployed throughout the country
- 160 short-term observers requested from OSCE participating States
Mission schedule
26 January: Mission opens
29 January: Arrival of long-term observers
30 January: Briefing of long-term observers
31 January: Deployment of long-term observers across the country
29 February: Arrival of short-term observers
1 March: Briefing of short-term observers
2 March: Deployment of short-term observers across the country
3 March: Familiarization by short-term observers with areas of responsibility
4 March: Election day
5 March: Press conference on preliminary findings and conclusions
7 March: Departure of short-term observers
11 March: Departure of long-term observers
15 March: Departure of the core team
Following an official invitation to observe the 4 March 2012 presidential election and in accordance with its mandate, OSCE/ODIHR has deployed an Election Observation Mission (EOM) for this election.
OSCE/ODIHR last observed a presidential election in the Russian Federation in 2004. It also deployed an EOM to the 4 December 2011 State Duma elections.
Long-term observation
The EOM is headed by Ambassador Heidi Tagliavini of Switzerland and consists of 15 members of the core team based in Moscow drawn from 13 OSCE participating States. The OSCE/ODIHR EOM started its operation in the Russian Federation on 26 January. Forty long-term observers are expected to arrive by 29 January, to be briefed on 30 January and deployed throughout the country on 31 January.
The mission will assess these elections for compliance with principles for democratic electoral processes, including commitments agreed to by all the OSCE participating States, as well as national legislation. Observers will monitor campaign activities, media coverage, the legislative framework and its implementation, the work of the election administration and relevant government bodies, as well as the resolution of election disputes.
Election day
The OSCE/ODIHR has requested 160 short-term observers to be deployed immediately prior to the 4 March elections. The short-term observers will be deployed throughout the country in multinational teams of two to monitor the opening of polling stations, the voting, the counting of ballots, and the tabulation of results.
The day after the elections, the Election Observation Mission will issue a statement of preliminary findings and conclusions. A final report on the observation of the entire electoral process will be issued approximately eight weeks after the end of the observation mission.