Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Russian Federation held state Duma, regional and local elections from 17 September to 19 September. On 24 September, the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation declared that the United Russia party, which supports President Vladimir Putin, had retained its parliamentary majority in the state Duma. I regret that independent and impartial election monitoring was not facilitated by the Russian Government to a satisfactory extent. The decision to restrict severely the size and format of an international OSCE and Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, ODIHR, election observation mission prevented its deployment as an effective and credible observer. Ireland fully aligns with the declaration issued on 20 September on behalf of the EU by the EU High Representative, Josep Borrell, regretting this decision by the Russian Government. The EU declaration also noted an increased crackdown on opposition politicians, civil society organisations, independent media outlets, and journalists. As EU leaders, we called on the Russian Federation to abide by the commitments it has made on the protection of human rights and democratic values.

Several independent reports indicate an intensified electoral crackdown, but space for civil society, media freedom and political opposition has been shrinking for years. The treatment of Alexei Navalny, still detained in a penal colony, is a clear example of this. Ireland and our EU partners have repeatedly called for Mr. Navalny's release. Ireland also does not recognise Russia's illegal annexation of Crimea and does not recognise the so-called elections held there. I also regret Russia's decision to involve residents of the non-government controlled territories of Ukraine’s Donetsk and Luhansk regions in the elections.

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