Russian Election Monitor

In 2025, EPDE launched a new strategic partnership with the Russian Election Monitor (REM), an initiative providing an independent regional perspective on Russia’s electoral landscape, often overlooked in Moscow-centred narratives.

Why monitor elections in Russia?

The “Russian Election Monitor” is the initiative of a group of European scholars, former and active politicians, and public officials united by the strong belief that Russian voters have the same right to democratic and free elections as every citizen in Europe does. Electoral experts and citizen election observers working hard to make the electoral process in Russia more free, fair, and transparent deserve all our attention and full support.

The 1993 Constitution has declared the Russian Federation a democratic, federative state based on the rule of law, with a multiparty political system and a plurality of ideologies and religions. However, in recent years, the Russian government has come under increased criticism for the restriction of fundamental freedoms, overwhelming influence of the executive power, and lack of genuine political competition during elections.

The “Russian Election Monitor” aims to provide a forum for a regular exchange of experts’ assessments, data, and analyses of electoral developments in Russia. The “Russian Election Monitor” will present analyses of election experts and findings of independent citizen election observers to an international audience interested in Russian elections.

Sham "elections" in Russian occupied territories of Ukraine

DISCLAIMER: SHAM “ELECTIONS” IN RUSSIAN OCCUPIED TERRITORIES OF UKRAINE

EPDE and REM strongly condemn the so-called “elections” and “referenda” conducted by the Russian Federation in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine since 2014, including the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and parts of the Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia regions. These actions represent a grave violation of international law, including Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, and are contrary to the principles enshrined in international humanitarian and human rights law.

Such staged electoral processes, conducted under conditions of military occupation and outside the framework of Ukrainian law, do not constitute a legitimate exercise of the right to genuine, free, and fair elections as protected under Article 25 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). Instead, they serve as instruments of propaganda and unlawful consolidation of control over occupied territories.