Bruce George MP, former President of the Organisation for Security Cooperation in Europe’s (OSCE) Parliamentary Assembly today welcomed the decision of the OSCE to reject an invitation to observe the upcoming Russian Presidential Election.

Speaking today he said “As a former President of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly and as someone who has headed 18 Short Term Observation Missions including the Russian Duma Elections in 2003 I have been following events in Russia very closely.

I am saddened that Russia is continuing its policy of preventing long term professional observation of their elections. This follows their obstructionism prior to the Duma Elections last year. ODIHR is the very highly respected election observation arm of the OSCE (of which Russia is a member) but the conditions Russia imposed made it impossible for any self respecting election observation mission to accept. ODIHR tried very hard to persuade the Russian Electoral Commission (in reality the Russian President) to allow them to do their professional job, but in the end were forced to withdraw. I am delighted too that unlike the Parliamentary elections in 2007 the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly has declined to attend.

Every man and his dog knows how far short the Russian parliamentary elections fell below international standards. The so-called Presidential “elections” have been fixed well in advance. What will pass for an election will in effect be more of a coronation and a squalid one at that.”