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Moscow : The small band of western observers covering Russia's poll expressed concerns at voting irregularities and the conduct of the campaign in the run-up to the election.
The 23 parliamentarians from the Council of Europe's parliamentary assembly are the only Western observation team covering the vast country after two of the three main election watchdog teams declined invitations.
"Our doubts within the Council of Europe delegation are more to do with the campaign, where there was unequal access to the media," Polish parliamentarian Tadeusz Iwinski said from Yaroslavl, 260km north of Moscow. Iwinski said the size of the team meant monitoring was restricted to polling stations in Yaroslavl, Moscow and St Petersburg.
British Parliamentarian Nigel Evans said he was surprised officials could see how people were voting in three polling stations he visited. "I found it very irregular," he said, adding voters were feeding their ballot papers face-up into an electronic ballot box. "It was quite clear and visible who they were voting for."
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