Russia's Central Election Commission (CEC) has already registered nearly 1,000 complaints of alleged irregularities in the preparations for the country's December legislative and local elections.
CEC Chairwoman Ella Pamfilova told journalists on August 18 that 169 complaints have been "resolved" and the commission is investigating 298.
Pamfilova also said 117 foreign election observers have been registered to monitor the elections, including delagates from the Parliamentary Assembly of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), and the Parliamentary Assembly of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO).
According to earlier media reports, the OSCE's Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) plans to send 80 long-term observers and 420 short-term monitors in a delegation led by former Norwegian Foreign Minister Jan Petersen.
Russian elections under President Vladimir Putin have been widely criticized as strictly controlled and unfree, with pro-government parties often accused of abusing administrative resources to disadvantage independent candidates.
