EPDE identified 178 fake observers invited by the Russian authorities, including many Western politicians and elected officials, to give international legitimacy to the “presidential elections.”

On 15-17 March 2024, Russia held “presidential elections”, in which four people allegedly competed for the Russian presidential post, including none from the democratic opposition, which is outlawed in the country in violation of democratic norms and standards.  

What makes it even worse and even more detached from democratic standards is that Russia decided not to invite any OSCE (the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe) observers to monitor the “elections,” in violation of the Istanbul Document 1999, according to which OSCE participating states committed themselves to invite observers from the ODIHR (Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights) and OSCE PA, in addition to other OSCE participating states. 

In an attempt to provide a degree of international legitimacy to the “presidential election” held both in Russia and illegally in occupied Ukrainian territories, Moscow invited 1115 “international observers and experts” from 129 countries.

Our analysis of Russian and other media reports, as well as social networks such as Facebook, X/Twitter, and Telegram, allowed us to identify 178 foreign “observers” and “experts” invited by the Russian authorities to give international legitimacy to the 2024 “presidential elections” both in Russia and on Russia-occupied Ukrainian territories.

This list is part of our ongoing research and is not exhaustive. As we continue our work, additional fake observers will be added to our database at fakeobservers.org.