The International Scientific-Practical Conference “Building Confidence in the Institution of Elections and Referendums: The Role of International Observation” was held from February 18 to 20 in St. Petersburg.
CIS Secretary-General Sergey Lebedev sent greetings to the participants and guests of the forum.
In the greeting address it was noted that the institution of international election observation is enshrined at the legislative level in all the Commonwealth member states, and observation itself is an important area of cooperation among the CIS countries.
“We interact productively with the Commonwealth states and the CIS Interparliamentary Assembly in conducting monitoring of elections and referendums, which enables us to analyze and objectively assess the dynamics of development in the electoral sphere across the CIS space. I believe that the presentations and discussions of the participants, as well as the engaged consideration of this topic at the conference platforms, will determine the prospects and new directions of the electoral processes development for further improving the conduct of democratic elections, increasing voters’ confidence in voting results, protecting their rights, and promoting unified international observation standards that take into account modern electoral technologies and national experience in the legal regulation of elections,” the address stated.
Sergey Lebedev also expressed confidence that further strengthening the strategic partnership of the CIS countries and joint coordinated work would contribute to developing civilized approaches to solving pressing issues of the electoral process.