Two million signatures come as a formidable barrier to nominees. The terms oughtn't to be so touch, he pointed out.
PACE observers were on a united international monitoring mission. They appeared in Russia the day before the poll, and had the chance to meet presidential hopefuls or their promoters.
The poll was a success, on the whole, and showed that Russia had made some progress in arranging elections, acknowledged Rudolf Bindig. Whatever minor trespasses of ballot secrecy were too small to have an impact on the election outcome.
Mr. Bindig spoke up for greater election openness in the North Caucasus, and called for greater media independence in pre-election campaign coverage.
His report came as a tremendous positive contribution to Russian work to streamline election laws, says Konstantin Kosachev, Russian PACE delegation head, and in change of the international affairs committee at the State Duma, the Russian parliament's lower house.
Russian parliamentarians are ready for a constructive dialogue, and willing to use the Council of Europe's advice and recommendations, he reassures.
