Golos Movement denounces harassment by Russian border authorities in the run-up to Presidential Election
Golos Movement denounces harassment by Russian border authorities in the run-up to Presidential Election The Movement for Defence of Voters’ Rights Golos criticises the political surveillance of its participants since August, 2017. In an open letter sent to President Vladimir Putin, the Director of the Federal Security Service (FSB), and several other Russian federal bodies, […]
Crucial Changes in Legislation Regarding Russian Presidential Elections of 2018

The Golos Movement presents the analysis of key changes in the legislation of the Russian presidential elections of 2018, comparing them with 2012. While some of the changes were aimed at democratization of elections, many amendments introduced brought new restrictions on the right to be elected, candidate registration, election monitoring, among others.
On the implementation of recommendations from the final reports of the OSCE/ODIHR

More than half of the 121 recommendations of OSCE/ODIHR on elections have not been implemented. The Golos Movement analysed the reports of the organization following the results of five federal elections in Russia from 2003 to 2016. The worst situation can be found in the regulation of agitation and media work: only six of the […]
Fixed Games: How candidates compete in elections

There was no real competition in the elections of the heads of regions held in Russia on September 10, 2017. This is the conclusion of the experts of the movement “Golos” in a new report assessing the level of competition in elections after analyzing the final financial reports of the candidates. Opposition political parties refused […]
Hunger Games: Political consultants during gubernatorial elections worked “for food”

The system of financing election campaigns and political parties in Russia remains opaque. Often, the costs of paying for the services of political consultants, which make up a significant share of the expenses in any major election campaign, remain in the “shadow.” At the same time, financial violations amounting to more than 10% of the […]
Golos: Lack of Financial Transparency and Competition at Regional Elections

On December 6, 2017, the Russian President Vladimir Putin officially announced his intention to run for a fourth term at the Presidential Elections of March 18, 2018. The election campaign has now started. But is there a real competition for this office? What resources and financial resources does the opposition have? And what about the […]
“Golos” analysed non-transparent campaign financing
In the first analytical report Golos reveals non-transparent financing of services during elections of governors held in September 2017. According to the report, the significant costs of services of political advisers have not been properly declared. Such financial violations which apparently exceed the limit of 10% of spendings by electoral funds of candidates can cause […]
“Electoral tourists” from abroad: Who are they?

There were no official international observers at the September 10, 2017 elections, but election commissions and media reported about a group of foreigners who came to Russia with the informal status of “foreign experts.” Despite the fact that they had no official status of international/foreign observers, and, according to Russian law, could not be present […]
Fake observation at Russian elections: Golos portraits the “electoral tourists”
According to the Central Election Commission of Russia, 774 international observers from 63 countries were accredited in Russia for the 2016 State Duma elections. There were no official international observers at the September 10, 2017 elections, but election commissions and media reported about a group of foreigners who came to Russia with the informal status […]
Golos criticizes the report of the Presidential Council on regional elections
In Russia, EPDE member GOLOS has criticized a draft report by the Presidential Council for Civil Society and Human Rights on the regional elections of September 10. The draft report includes a number of controversial recommendations for the future, such as limiting video monitoring and granting observer status only to members of the Presidential Council […]