Russia expects 600 foreign observers at presidential election in March

The number of international observers at the upcoming Russian presidential election will be the same as at the parliamentary election in December, CEC [Central Electoral Commission] secretary Nikolay Konkin has said.

"The number of foreign observers at the presidential election will be about the same as at the election of State Duma deputies, that is, about 600 foreign observers," Konkin told a news conference in Moscow on Wednesday [8 February].

He said that nearly 90 observers had already been accredited as of today. "About 40 so-called long-term observers are already working in various parts of the Russian Federation," Konkin said.