Cis Convention On Standards Of Free And Democratic Elections

The fact that CIS countries can adopt the Convention on the Standards of Free and Democratic Elections sounds quite real, Russia's Central Election Commission Chairman Alexander Veshnyakov said Tuesday. In his words, the Central Election Commission drafted the convention, and corresponding working groups of the CIS Interparliamentary Assembly have already coordinated the document, with the OSCE subsequently okaying it. Veshnyakov noted that the document was to be considered at the session of the Interparliamentary Assembly due to be held on November 23-24. In addition, he said, the draft convention is also to be examined by the Commonwealth leaders when they meet for the CIS summit meeting on November 30. Moreover, Veshnyakov continued, the convention may be discussed at the European level, too.