In an interview with Moskovsky Komsomolets published on Thursday, Curtis Budden, a spokesman for the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), said that conditions set by Russia's Central Electoral Commission (CEC), meant that his organization would be unable to perform its functions fully.
He said Moscow had given permission for monitors to enter Russia on February
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28, which would not give them enough time to adequately prepare to observe the March 2 vote.
The ODIHR refused to monitor Russia's parliamentary election on December 2 last year, citing visa delays and restrictions. The OSCE subsequently declared the polls not free and not fair.
Budden said the invitation the OSCE had received for the presidential polls "has serious restrictions both in terms of the number of observers and time they are allowed to observe."
The head of the CEC, Vladimir Churov, said on Monday that 70 ODIHR observers had been invited to monitor the presidential election.
The ODIHR asked Russia on Tuesday to reconsider its quotas for the number of observers as well as the observers' mandates. A Russian election official said the CEC was studying the OSCE's request, and the election body's deputy chairman, Stanislav Vavilov, said a reply would be provided soon.
President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday that Russia will not allow foreign countries to influence its presidential election.
Speaking at a session of the country's state security service, the FSB, Putin called for measures to deter "attempts to interfere in Russia's domestic affairs."
