Nizhny Novgorod civic activists discussed the results of independent monitoring of the municipal elections.

      Members of the Public Chamber of the Nizhny Novgorod Region and the Public Election Observation Headquarters discussed the results of independent observation at the recently held municipal elections in the region. Experts and members of the Public Headquarters noted the similarity of the main trends in the Nizhny Novgorod elections to election campaigns across the country as a whole.

      The final report of the association "Independent Public Monitoring" (NOM) states that "the elections held on the single voting day were conducted in full accordance with the legislation of the Russian Federation. Citizens were provided with all opportunities to exercise both passive and active electoral rights."

      "In the Nizhny Novgorod Region, elections of deputies at various levels, including the Nizhny Novgorod City Duma, were organized and conducted at a high level, ensuring security, legality and maximum transparency. The Nizhny Novgorod Region demonstrated an example of effective conduct of an electoral campaign without significant violations, which is confirmed by the data of the regional election commission, the Public Chamber and independent observers," said Roman Golubin, Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences at N.I. Lobachevsky Nizhny Novgorod State University (NNSU), Candidate of Historical Sciences, Chairman of the Commission of the Public Chamber of the Nizhny Novgorod Region on the implementation of the fundamentals of state policy for the preservation and strengthening of traditional Russian spiritual and moral values, and a member of the Public Election Observation Headquarters.

      At the same time, all participants in the discussion emphasized the importance of public observation as a crucial factor in the legitimacy and transparency of elections.

      "The system of public observation once again confirms the significance of public oversight at elections: thanks to the consolidated work of the public chambers, almost all polling stations were covered by observation," the final report of the NOM association says.

      In the Nizhny Novgorod Region, 3,150 public observers were prepared, who worked all three days of voting at all polling stations. Importantly, for all polling stations of the region's administrative center one principal and two reserve observers were prepared, and in other municipalities one principal and one reserve observer.

      "Well-organized public observation at the stages of preparation and conduct of the elections of deputies of the region's municipal formations plays a major role in ensuring the legality and competitiveness of the electoral campaign. This is convincing confirmation of the legitimacy of the election results and the authority of the elected deputies. Such observation was organized by the Public Chamber of the Nizhny Novgorod Region and the specially created Public Headquarters. This systematic work began long before the single voting day," said Alexander Rezontov, member of the Public Chamber and the Public Headquarters.

      Roman Golubin cited training and preparation of observers as key factors ensuring the effectiveness of observers' work. According to him, the Public Chamber conducted serious training for observers, including explanations of legislation and procedures for recording violations based on methodologies developed by the NOM association together with the Public Chamber of the Russian Federation with the support of the Presidential Grants Fund.

      Another crucial factor, according to the findings of the NOM association, is the work of the regional Public Headquarters.

      The head of the association, Alexander Brod, highly praised the efforts of the Nizhny Novgorod Public Headquarters to legitimize the elections.

      "The activities of the Public Headquarters were active and public. All its members were on duty around the clock during the voting days. Ten mobile teams were formed in Nizhny Novgorod, Dzerzhinsk, Bor, as well as in the Bogorodsk, Pavlovsk and Balakhninsky municipal districts. Over the three days of voting, the mobile teams made 284 control visits to polling stations. All of them were planned; there was no need for emergency trips to assist public observers. The Public Chamber signed a cooperation agreement with regional branches of political parties participating in the municipal elections. Cooperation agreements are in force with one hundred NGOs in the region," Alexander Brod noted.

      The effectiveness of the Public Headquarters’ work, according to Konstantin Kargin, Head of the Department of Labor and Environmental Law at the Faculty of Law of N.I. Lobachevsky Nizhny Novgorod State University and Chairman of the Commission on Legality and Protection of Citizens' Rights of the Public Chamber of the Nizhny Novgorod Region, was facilitated by close interaction with the Election Commission of the Nizhny Novgorod Region and the participation of Public Chamber members in its meetings.

      Overall, the elections held in the country provided citizens with the opportunity for free expression of will.

      "Voters were provided with opportunities to exercise their active electoral rights. Political parties and candidates, in exercising their passive electoral rights, were in equal, clearly legislatively defined conditions," the NOM association notes.

      This conclusion is supported by an expert of the Public Election Observation Headquarters in the Nizhny Novgorod Region, political scientist, Doctor of Philosophy, and professor at the Nizhny Novgorod branch of the Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration (RANEPA), Andrey Dakhin.

      "In general, it can be concluded that the institution of elections confirmed the stability of its legitimacy, the stability of the Russian model of political multipartyism, and the organizational clarity of the work of the system of election commissions," he emphasized.

      This thesis was supported by another expert of the regional Public Headquarters, sociologist and senior researcher at the "Institute of Political Psychology," Alexander Prudnik.

      "The main characteristic of these elections, as presented in the public information space, is that they were held in an organized, calm manner, without violations, and voters supported the policies of the current authorities. This was the main outcome of the elections," he said.

      Over the past years thousands of citizens in the Nizhny Novgorod Region have participated in the public observation system. This system is attracting increasing interest from young people, who strive to participate more actively in electoral processes, believes Roman Strongin, chairman of the regional Public Chamber and the Public Headquarters.

      "We may be talking about the formation of a new active social layer. Training and the development of practical skills for public observers is not inexpensive. But voters' trust is also costly. It is important that through their systematic work the Public Chambers of the Russian Federation and of the Nizhny Novgorod Region have laid the foundation for effective control of the upcoming federal elections," Roman Strongin said.

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