MOSCOW. July 17 (Interfax) - The Russian Central Election Commission (CEC) and representatives of non-governmental organizations discussed the participation of civil society in upcoming election campaigns at a meeting on Tuesday.

"The discussion focused on finding a common ground between NGOs and election organizers so that citizens are able to more fully exercise their voting rights," the CEC Press Service and Publishing Department said in a statement received by Interfax on Tuesday.

"The meeting also discussed issues such as the verification of election results," the statement said.

"The participants have agreed with the need for exit polls. A number of speakers were unanimous in their opinion that no group or organization, even the most respectable one, can substitute the entire state, the electoral system or demand a monopoly and an "exclusive count of votes," the Commission said.

It was also noted at the meeting that since 2003 the CEC has been posting on its website protocol data of each voting station so that CEC data and copies of the protocols received by observers could be compared.

The meeting was organized by the following CEC and NGO representatives: Ella Pamfilova, Chairman of the Russian Presidential Council for promoting civil society and human rights institutions; Andrei Przhezdomsky, Executive Director of the Russian Free Election Foundation and member of the Russian Public Chamber; Alexander Brod, Chairman of the Moscow Bureau for Human Rights; Vladimir Koptev- Dvornikov, Secretary General of the European Club, an inter-factional parliamentary coalition and co-chairman of the Civil Control Association.