HL Deb 05 January 2004 vol 657 cc9-10WA
Lord Hylton

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether they will raise with the Government of Russia the fairness of the recent parliamentary elections. [HL419]

Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean

We share the concerns raised by the preliminary report of the International Election Observation Mission that the Russian parliamentary elections were well organised but failed to meet many international standards.

We welcome and support the work of the OSCE and Council of Europe to assist the authorities and civil society of the Russian Federation in continuing to improve its democratic process. We look foward to seeing the detailed report of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) and will use appropriate bilateral and/or multilateral opportunities to encourage the Russian Federation to follow up any recommendations made by ODIHR before the presidential elections scheduled for March 2004.