Russian OSCE observers will not be invited to the Ukrainian Parliament elections
The head of the mission of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) Albert Jonsson said that the Russian Federation did not nominate its long-term observers for the parliamentary elections in Ukraine, reports Ukrinform News Agency.
Jonsson also explained that the ODIHR invites all OSCE participating countries to nominate their candidates for teams of long-term and short-term observers.
"So far, Russia has not submitted its candidates to the team of long-term observers. In ten days, we will ask to submit nominations to the short-term observers, and then we will find out if Russia offered their candidates", - said the head of the mission.
The mission's short-term observers are monitoring site only on the day of elections, while members of the long-term part of the mission monitor the situation before, during, and after the elections.
Early parliamentary elections in Ukraine are scheduled for July 21, 2019.
Before the presidential elections, the Verkhovna Rada approved the draft bill that restricts Russian citizens and persons proposed by the Russian side to be the official observers in the elections in Ukraine. Two hundred thirty-two deputies voted for the bill.
On February 26, the fifth President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko signed a law prohibiting representatives of the Russian Federation from observing the elections in Ukraine.