Public oversight
4.1
THE INSTITUTION OF PUBLIC OBSERVATION IN RUSSIA TODAY
LARGE-SCALE PUBLIC MONITORING IN THE COUNTRY GAINED MOMENTUM IN 2018 WHEN THE CIVIC CHAMBER AND THE REGIONAL CHAMBERS WERE GRANTED THE RIGHT TO SEND THEIR ELECTION OBSERVERS TO POLLING STATIONS.82
Currently, the institution of public observation is an integral and natural part of the electoral process, which ensures the satisfaction of the public’s request for purity, transparency, and legitimacy of voting.
The most important social and political event of 2021 was the elections to the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation, which took place from September 17 through 19, 2021, simultaneously with the elections to the regional legislative and executive authorities of Russia.
Given the current epidemiological situation, to minimize the risk of the spread of COVID-19 infection, norms on holding multi-day voting were included in the electoral legislation. Seven regions of the Russian Federation chose to make use of the remote electronic voting (REV) procedure.
Introducing digital technology into the electoral process made it possible to create the most comfortable conditions for all categories of citizens who decided to take part in the elections: for the elderly — by reducing the number of people voting at polling stations at the same time, for the most economically and politically active age group of voters — middle-aged people, and for young people. According to the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation, two-thirds of the participants in the remote e-voting were Russians aged 26 through 55.83
Attempts of foreign interference in the election campaign became new threats to the electoral process. Over the entire voting period, there were attacks on the REV infrastructure from IP addresses based in the USA, Germany, Ukraine, and other foreign states.84 During the voting days, the Civic Chamber’s cyber volunteers recorded almost 20,000 false election reports.85
As part of the coordination of the All-Russian Public Observation Process, the Situation Center was deployed at the Civic Chamber, which received and analyzed information from public observers from all over the country in real-time.
Of note, 40 members of the Civic Chamber Volunteer Corps kept in touch around the clock with public observers in all Russian regions, as well as with 85 regional public observation headquarters. In the course of their work, the volunteers made several dozens of thousands of phone calls to public observers at polling stations.
THE WORK OF THE CIVIC CHAMBER SITUATION CENTER
RESULTS OF THE WORK OF THE SITUATIONAL CENTER OF THE CIVIC CHAMBER FOR OBSERVATION ON A SINGLE VOTING DAY IN 2021
MADE BY CALL CENTER OPERATORS
WERE RECEIVED ON THE CIVIC CHAMBER HOTLINE
RECEIVED VIA THE MOBILNY NABLYUDATEL (MOBILE MONITOR) MOBILE APPLICATION
WERE RECEIVED FROM OBSERVERS WHICH CONFIRMED VIOLATIONS OF THE “GOLD STANDARD”
OF NON-COMPLIANCE WITH THE “GOLD STANDARD” PROVISIONS WERE CONFIRMED
WERE HELD AT THE SITUATION CENTER
One of the meaningful innovations was the public observation of the e-voting process: the number of transactions was reconciled daily in the presence of public observers and media representatives. At the end of the voting, the entire volume of data received during the voting days was checked for correctness.
Another innovation of the 2021 elections was the unique system of public observation centers (POC), created under the auspices of the regional civic chambers of Russia. All participants in the electoral process, political parties, their regional branches, single-mandate candidates, as well as public observers and interested citizens, had the opportunity to monitor the voting process in real-time anywhere in the country at POCs. This made it possible to prevent possible violations, and in case of their occurrence, to timely identify them and take the necessary measures. Ensuring the possibility of rewinding recordings from CCTV cameras was very important.86
4.2
ELECTION OBSERVATION DOMESTICALLY AND ABROAD
UNDERSCORING THE IMPORTANCE AND COMPLEXITY OF ORGANIZING ALL-RUSSIAN PUBLIC OBSERVATION, IN DECEMBER 2020, THE COORDINATION COUNCIL UNDER THE CIVIC CHAMBER ON PUBLIC OVERSIGHT OVER VOTING ANNOUNCED THE LAUNCH OF A LARGE-SCALE ALL-RUSSIAN TRAINING PROGRAM FOR ELECTION OBSERVERS, AS PART OF WHICH 250 THOUSAND PEOPLE WERE TRAINED.
To implement a large-scale task of training observers, the Civic Chamber entered into agreements with leading all-Russian public organizations, such as the Association of Lawyers of Russia, the Russian Union of Youth, the Russian Union of Journalists, the association of nongovernment organizations “Independent Public Monitoring” and others.
Observers were given basic information about the electoral process, the requirements to meet at polling stations, ways to identify and record violations.
During all the voting days, observers assessed whether the voting process and the quality of its management corresponded to the “Gold Standard.”
The “Gold Standard” is a “checklist” containing several dozen checkpoints. Observers used this list to check compliance at polling stations, which made it possible to ensure maximum control over the voting process and promptly eliminate violations.
The “Gold Standard” was also actively used by observers representing political parties and candidates. In preparation for election monitoring, the Civic Chamber signed agreements on interaction and cooperation with 37 public associations and 11 political parties.
PUBLIC OBSERVATION INFRASTRUCTURE
TRAINED IN THE RUN-UP TO THE ELECTIONS
WERE SENT TO POLLING STATIONS ON THE SINGLE DAY OF VOTING
ACROSS RUSSIA’S REGIONS
SIGNED AGREEMENTS WITH THE CIVIC CHAMBER
Mobile public observation groups were widely used in the last elections, which proved to be an effective mechanism for coordinating interests and resolving conflict situations at polling stations, as well as for promptly checking headline-making statements about violations during the voting.
A meaningful step to simplify and automate the observation process at polling stations was the launch by the Civic Chamber of the Mobilny Nablyudatel (Mobile Observer) app.87 All the information on (non-)compliance with the “Gold Standard” entered by the observer in the app was automatically forwarded to the Civic Chamber’s Situation Center and promptly processed.
An important area of the observers' work was the assessment of whether polling stations are accessible to people with disabilities and low-mobility groups of the population. According to the inspection results, more than 91% of polling stations met the accessibility criteria.
ACCESSIBILITY OF POLLING STATIONS FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES
RESULTS OF INSPECTING THE COMPLIANCE OF POLLING STATIONS WITH ACCESSIBILITY CRITERIA BY PUBLIC OBSERVERS
MLN VOTERS
HAVE A DISABILITY
REQUIRE SPECIAL CONDITIONS FOR EXERCISING ELECTORAL RIGHTS
In close cooperation with the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, the Civic Chamber arranged for public observation at polling stations abroad- in 51 countries, 213 referrals were issued to our compatriots who controlled the transparency and legality of the electoral process.
The institutional partners of the Civic Chamber — delegations of economic and social councils from eight countries that are members of the International Association of Economic and Social Councils and Similar Institutions (AICESIS) also took part in monitoring the electoral process. The Civic Chamber demonstrated to colleagues from other countries how the Situation Center works. In the process of monitoring the voting, the greatest interest of foreign experts was aroused by topics related to election arrangements, the functions and responsibilities of observers, as well as safety of ballots.
A separate area of the Chamber’s international activity this year was the deployment of observation missions in foreign countries. Despite the coronavirus restrictions, the Civic Chamber observers took a direct part in monitoring the parliamentary elections in Kyrgyzstan, early presidential elections in Kazakhstan and Syria, early parliamentary elections in Armenia, and parliamentary elections in Ethiopia.
4.3
OVERSIGHT OVER PRISONERS' ELECTORAL RIGHTS
SINCE 2008, THE CIVIC CHAMBER HAS BEEN WORKING ON MAKING UP NEW COMPOSITION OF PUBLIC SUPERVISORY COMMISSIONS (PSC) IN DETENTION CENTERS IN ACCORDANCE WITH FEDERAL LAW NO. 76-FZ OF JUNE 10, 2008 “ON PUBLIC OVERSIGHT OVER ENSURING HUMAN RIGHTS IN DETENTION CENTERS AND ON ASSISTANCE TO DETAINEES.”
The Constitution of the Russian Federation grants persons in custody, unlike convicts serving sentences in places of deprivation of liberty under a court verdict, the right to elect and be elected to state authorities and local self-government bodies.88
In order to ensure public oversight over the voting of detainees who wished to participate in the elections, public observation was organized by the regional PSCss. The corresponding agreement was signed in June 2021 between the Coordination Council of the regional PSCs, the Coordination Council under the Civic Chamber on Public Oversight over Voting, and the Council of the civic chambers of Russia. Almost all regions of Russia organized public observation groups to monitor the election process at closed-type institutions during the three-day voting.
Public observers noticed a high level of electoral activity of citizens voting at places of detention (more than 98%) and closed medical institutions; each person was provided with the opportunity to vote secretly and safely in compliance with all sanitary and epidemiological norms.89
WITHIN PLACES OF FORCED DETENTION AND CLOSED MEDICAL INSTITUTIONS EXERCISED THEIR RIGHT TO VOTE ON THE SINGLE VOTING DAY 2021
PUBLIC OVERSIGHT OF DETENTION CENTERS
INFRASTRUCTURE OF PUBLIC OVERSIGHT OF DETENTION CENTERS
IN RUSSIAN REGIONS
THR 5th PSC COMPOSITION OPERATES
TO DETENTION CENTERS IN 13 REGIONS OF RUSSIA MADE THE CIVIC CHAMBER MEMBERS IN 2021
4.4
“RESET” OF PUBLIC COUNCILS' ACTIVITIES
ALONG WITH CIVIC CHAMBERS, PUBLIC COUNCILS UNDER FEDERAL EXECUTIVE AUTHORITIES ARE THE MAIN VEHICLES OF PUBLIC OVERSIGHT.
The Civic Chamber is key institution for forming public councils. For this purpose the Civic Chamber interacts and accumulates around itself opinions, proposals, and initiatives of leaders of public organizations, social groups, and authorities in order to make public councils effective working platforms to concern and ensure a balance of various public and professional interests, and to protect citizens' rights by federal executive authorities when making socially significant policy decisions.
Since 2018, the Civic Chamber has been taking major efforts to “reset” the activities of public councils under federal executive authorities. Today, this work is almost completed. In accordance with a single standard approved by the Civic Chamber, all 50 public councils under the Federal Public Administration, which are under the jurisdiction of the Government of Russia, have been formed.90
In 2021, for the first time, it was decided to prepare a rating of public councils based on a number of criteria for transparency and efficiency, and first of all to promote the people’s agenda by the councils — whether their work meets the urgent needs of citizens.
The Civic Chamber expects that the results of the rating will urge healthy competition, intensify the councils' work, change the attitude of laggards to feedback with citizens and that public oversight will develop effectively in this competitive environment.
PUBLIC COUNCIL TRANSPARENCY AND EFFECTIVENESS RATING
THE TRANSPARENCY AND EFFECTIVENESS RATING OF PUBLIC COUNCILS UNDER FEDERAL EXECUTIVE AUTHORITIES, WHICH ARE MANAGED BY THE GOVERNMENT OF RUSSIA
