Fourteen Election Commissions to Observe Russian Parliamentary Vote

14 of the 42 foreign electoral commissions have accepted the invitation to observe Russian parliamentary elections next week.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) – Fourteen of the 42 foreign electoral commissions have accepted the invitation to observe Russian parliamentary elections next week, Central Election Commission (CEC) Chair Ella Pamfilova said Wednesday.

"I will separately focus on the work with international observers. The Russian CEC sent invitations to 42 foreign election commissions, of which 14 said yes," Pamfilova told reporters.

She said 691 observers have been accredited as of Tuesday to observe the campaign across 52 constituencies.

Among the organizations invited are the Association of World Election Bodies, Association of Asian Election Authorities and the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR). The Russian Foreign Ministry and the two parliamentary chambers have sent out invitations to the European Union and CIS embassies, Pamfilova added.

Elections to Russia's lower house of parliament, the State Duma, are due to take place on September 18, 2016.