RUSSIA: ODIHR UPDATE; U.S. INVITATION

C O N F I D E N T I A L MOSCOW 005401 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/15/2017 TAGS: PGOV KDEM PHUM RS SUBJECT: RUSSIA: ODIHR UPDATE; U.S. INVITATION REF: MOSCOW 5338 Classified By: Ambassador William J. Burns. Reasons: 1.4 (b) and (d). Summary -------------- ¶1. (C) On November 14, Vladimir Churov, head of the Russian Central Election Commission (CEC) told reporters that the CEC had received the accreditation applications for all 70 ODIHR election observers that morning and had forwarded them to the MFA for visa issuance. ODIHR Observer Mission Head Boris Frlec is in Moscow until November 16 in an effort to ensure that the 20 core ODIHR observers can arrive on November 18. On November 15, Ambassador stressed to Deputy FM Sergey Kislyak that the sooner the visas for the ODIHR team are issued, the better. Churov announced that the CEC had accredited around 1,500 Russian and foreign journalists to observe the conduct of the December 2 Duma elections. On the same day that Churov met with reporters, the beleaguered Russian NGO Golos announced that 3,000 Golos representatives would observe the elections using their journalist credentials. Post requests Department guidance on whether the U.S. plans to accept the CEC invitation to observe elections. End summary. All According to the Law -------------- ¶2. (U) During his November 14 press conference, Churov defended the CEC's handling of invitations for foreign observers as being in accordance with Russian law and Russia's international obligations. Invitations were sent to potential observer missions on October 30. According to Churov, invitations could not have been sent earlier because the ballots and procedures for the December 2 elections were not been finalized until October 28. Churov said the CEC had received accreditation applications for the OSCE/ODIHR observer mission only on the morning of November 14, and added that it had sent all materials for these observers to the MFA for visa issuance the same morning. ¶3. (U) Churov provided a list of missions that had to date accepted invitations to observe the elections. He listed several countries whose election commissions would send two observers each. He also noted that there would be about 30 observers from the CIS Parliamentary assembly, PACE, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, and the OSCE Parliamentary Council. Russian media reported on November 15 that the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly has asked to be allowed to sent more than the allotted 30 representatives because 35 parliamentarians have already expressed their desire to be included on that organization's slate. Many Invited, Many Will Come -------------- ¶4. (U) Churov noted that to date about 1,100 Russian journalists and 350 foreign journalists had been accredited for the elections. He defended the invitation of only 70 ODIHR observers, noting that the organization had sent as few as twelve observers on missions to other countries. He also noted that ODIHR would not be the only observer mission active in Russia during the elections. Churov announced that on November 14 the CEC had invited the central election commissions (sic) of the United States and Japan to send two observers each. Japan had taken the initiative of approaching the CEC directly and completed the necessary forms even before the CEC had sent an invitation. On November 15, Churov contacted the Ambassador and requested assistance in conveying the CEC invitation to the appropriate U.S. body. (Invitations faxed to EUR/RUS.) ¶5. (SBU) Churov noted that several organizations had requested permission to conduct exit polls on December 2. VTsYOM had been selected to conduct exit polls in 1,200 election wards (out of 95,000 nationwide). We expect the Levada Center and the Foundation for Public Opinion will also conduct exit polling.) ODIHR, Frlec In Country -------------- ¶6. (C) In a November 14 meeting with the German Ambassador, former Slovenian Foreign Minister and head of the ODIHR Observer Mission Ambassador Boris Frlec said he was in Russia for the week to make sure that the core 20 ODIHR observers received their visas in time to arrive on November 18. Frlec believed he had accomplished this task, although ODIHR must indicate to the Russians the functions that the members of the core team will perform. Frlec expected the additional 50 short-term observers to arrive on November 25. (Comment: We were told us November 15 that the Russian Embassy in Warsaw had not issued visas for two members of the ODIHR core team who were supposed to provide logistical support.) In a November 14 meeting, Ambassador told Deputy FM Sergey Kislyak that the USG expects no restrictions on ODIHR observers and that the sooner the invitations are sent and visas issued, the better. Golos Announces Parallel Monitoring -------------- ¶7. (U) On November 14, the Russian election monitoring NGO Golos, with a network of 40 regional affiliates in the most populous areas of Russia, held a press conference to announce that it would field 3,000 observers throughout Russia on December 2. Golos will rely on their journalist credentials for access to polling stations. Golos is proceeding with its ambitious monitoring efforts despite the prosecution of its Samara branch leader Lyudmila Kuzmina. ¶8. (C) Golos director Liliya Shibanova confirmed that local authorities have brought criminal charges against Kuzmina for the unlawful use of pirated software (reftel). According to Shibanova, Kuzmina could receive up to five years in prison if convicted. The next hearing is scheduled for November 19. Shibanova added that the Samara local election commission authorities had reportedly ordered the removal of all Golos representatives, or those representatives trained by Golos, from election commissions. Comment -------------- ¶9. (SBU) Churov's press conference dealt with international observer missions in general, although clearly the ODIHR squabble was on the minds of everyone present. He remained defiant and defensive about the number of observers invited. Embassy requests Department's guidance on whether two bilateral U.S. election observers will accept the CEC invitation. Our Quad colleagues tell us that the EU has no unified position on whether to take up the offer or to rely on ODIHR. BURNS