9th State Duma Elections: Delegation led by UEC Chair observed electoral processes

A delegation led by Chairman of the Union Election Commission (UEC) of Myanmar, U Than Soe, returned to Yangon by air, Tuesday after visiting the Russian Federation from 16 to 22 September to observe the ninth State Duma election at the invitation of the Chairman of the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation.

During the visit, the delegation met with Mr Pavel Andreev, a member of the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation, and held discussions on election-related matters and possible areas of cooperation between the two countries. The delegation also visited the Information Centre of the Central Election Commission and the Public Election Observation Headquarters to study their operations and procedures, and attended the international conference entitled “Elections in Times of Turbulence” held on 18 and 19 September.

From 18 to 20 September, the delegation visited Polling Station 182 in Tagansky District, Central Administrative Okrug of Moscow, 1772 and 1779 in Donskoy District, Southern Administrative Okrug, and Polling Stations 882, 883 and 884 in Klinsky District, Moscow Oblast. They observed both paper-ballot voting and e-voting, and the entire voting process, from voter-list verification to ballot casting, including the use of CCTV to monitor polling-station activities.

The 9th State Duma election involved more than 91,000 polling stations and over 111 million registered voters. A total of 52,026 candidates, including independent candidates and candidates from 11 political parties, contested the election. On 21 September, the delegation attended a meeting at the Central Election Commission to exchange views and assessments among international election observation missions that observed the State Duma election.

Speaking at the meeting, UEC Chairman U Than Soe said that, based on the observations as international election observers, the polling stations and voting arrangements were well organized, and voters were able to exercise their voting rights freely without interference or threats.

He said polling-station officials carried out voting and counting procedures accurately in accordance with the prescribed laws and procedures. The voting process was transparent, and the use of e-voting systems and portable electronic voting machines made voting more convenient for voters, etc.

According to the observations, the State Duma election was conducted peacefully in accordance with the law and procedures, with transparency throughout the process. A total of 1,126 election observers from 133 countries and 13 international organizations, along with 128 international diplomats from 53 countries, observed the 9th State Duma election.