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#16 - JRL 2008-36 - JRL Home
Russians Trust CEC More Than Election Observers - Poll

MOSCOW. Feb 19 (Interfax) - Russians have a positively neutral attitude toward the presence of international observers at their elections, a poll found.

Almost one-third (31%) believe that the presence of international observers at Russian elections promotes fair vote-counting, while over a quarter (26%) believe it helps make for a calm and civilized election campaign, the VTsIOM public opinion center told Interfax on Tuesday quoting a poll conducted in January.

The presence of such observers has no impact on elections, said every fifth out of the 1,600 adults polled in 153 cities and towns in 46 territories. Only 7% fell that the presence of international observers distracts election organizers from their direct duties or benefits only Russia's opponents in the West.

In September 2007, ahead of the State Duma elections, an equal number of Russians trusted the Central Elections Commission (CEC) and observers from Russian public organizations (23% each). After the elections, the share of those who tend to believe the CEC grew by 5%, while the share of those who believe independent observers declined accordingly. Meanwhile, 6-7% of those polled trust observers of political parties participating in elections and sociologists, 4% - OSCE and UN observers, and 2% - CIS observers.