OSCE Chief Hopes Ukrainian Election Observing To Be In Full Compliance With Set Standards

Thomas Greminger, the secretary general of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), told Sputnik on Saturday that he hopes for the upcoming presidential election in Ukraine to be internationally observed in full compliance with the set standards

MUNICH (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 17th February, 2019) Thomas Greminger, the secretary general of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), told Sputnik on Saturday that he hopes for the upcoming presidential election in Ukraine to be internationally observed in full compliance with the set standards.

"An invitation for [Russian] observers on a short-term basis has now been issued. Let's see what happens. I certainly believe that we should protect methodology of observing the elections ... and in this sense I hope that there will be no need to make exceptions," Greminger said on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference.

The presidential election in Ukraine is scheduled for March 31. The campaign was launched on December 31, 2018, along with the registration of candidates. The Ukrainian Election Commission has announced that over 40 candidates had been registered to compete for the presidency, which is a new record.

The Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) plan to request to 56 OSCE member states, including Russia, to participate in a short-term monitoring mission at the upcoming presidential election in Ukraine with some 750 monitors in total needed for the task.

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has, however, said that he would instruct the Ukrainian State Border Guard Service to deny entry to Russian observers coming for the March 31 election. The Ukrainian parliament later passed a bill proposing to ban Russia's representatives from observing elections in Ukraine.

OSCE ODIHR Director Ingibjorg Solrun Gisladottir has expressed her regret over Kiev's decision, while Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Grigory Karasin has stressed that Moscow will defend its right to monitor the election.