European & Russian Election Observers with Zyuganov 🇷🇺

(28 Feb 2008)
++AUDIO AS INCOMING++
1. Wide exterior Central Elections Commission with Russian flag
2. Wide election observers from the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe getting out of a minibus
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Andreas Gross, head of the PACE delegation of election observers:
"This we will say on Monday evening you know, or Monday afternoon. We don't like to be interviewed during the process."
4. Mid of Gross and other election observers entering the Central Elections Commission
5. Wide observers entering the Central Elections Commission
6. Wide of Communist Gennady Zyuganov out campaigning, surrounded by people
7. Close of Zyuganov signing a campaign programme
8. Mid top shot of Zyuganov with supporters
9. Zyuganov shaking hands with supporters and telling reporters he is well
10. Zyuganov walking away
11. Set up of news conference
12. Wide of independent observers at press conference
13. Wide of assembled media
14. SOUNDBITE (Russian) Liliya Shibanova, director of "Golos" independent election monitoring group:
"Only one of the candidates is actually campaigning and that is (Gennady) Zyuganov, and in fact everywhere he tries to campaign we see administrative barriers, which prevent him from meeting the voters and spreading the campaign materials and so on."
15. Cutaway of assembled media
16. SOUNDBITE (Russian) Elena Panfilova, head of Amnesty International Anti-Corruption Research Centre:
"There is no (election) campaign as such. Unfortunately we don't see the campaign which should consist of debates of the candidates, of promoting their interests and their election programs. What we see is the presence of the absolute winner of the elections and three other people who are trying to compete but they are not able to go further than trying."
17. Cutaway of reporter writing
18. Wide of news conference
STORYLINE:
A delegation of European election observers were in Moscow on Thursday ahead of this weekend's Russian presidential elections.
The 27-member delegation has been sent by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.
Over the coming days they intend to meet with all four presidential candidates and election officials.
Their first stop was at the Central Elections Commission.
The delegation is headed by Swiss socialist Member of European Parliament, Andreas Gross, who refused to comment before the election results had been announced.
"This we will say on Monday evening you know, or Monday afternoon. We don't like to be interviewed during the process," Gross said.
However, a statement issued by PACE said that "while the forthcoming election may appear competitive to some, with four candidates in the running, the real choice of alternatives is limited at best."
Independent election monitors in Moscow on Thursday criticised the Russian presidential election campaign saying "there is no campaign as such."
"Unfortunately we don't see the campaign," said Elena Panfilova, Head of Amnesty International Anti-Corruption Research Centre said during a news conference in the Russian capital.
"What we see is the presence of the absolute winner of the elections and three other people who are trying to compete but they are not able to go further than trying," she said .
Panfilova's comments were backed by Liliya Shibanova, director of "Golos" independent election monitoring group.
Dmitry Medvedev has been endorsed by the popular Putin and he has received wide and overwhelmingly positive coverage on state-run television ahead of the vote.
Medvedev is expected to win overwhelmingly against three other candidates.

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