Updated 03:35 p.m. Moscow Time
MOSCOW, October 20 (RIA Novosti) – Russian lawmakers plan to monitor parliamentary elections in Ukraine as part of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) observer mission, State Duma speaker Sergei Naryshkin said Monday.
“Most likely, we will take part in the OSCE observer mission,” the member of Russia’s lower house of parliament told reporters.
Observers from the Russia’s Central Election Committee have not been invited to monitor Ukraine’s parliamentary election, Oleg Lavrov, a representative for the committee, told RIA Novosti in October 1.
In September, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) invited Russia to join international observers at the Ukrainian parliamentary election.
A snap election to the Ukrainian unicameral parliament, known as the Verkhovna Rada, is scheduled for October 26. Ukrainians will vote in 438 parliament members – 50 percent under party lists and 50 percent under constituencies). The election threshold is at 5 percent.
The self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk people’s republics said they would not go to polls on October 26. They stressed that they want full independence from Ukraine and have set elections of regional leaders and legislative bodies for November 2.
