Problems and prospects for the development of the legal status of election observers in the Russian Federation

Introduction. The functioning of election observers in the Russian Federation is directly related to ensuring and implementing publicity in the activities of election commissions. The study of the features of the legal status of observers is one of the most popular electoral topics in the modern scientific community, the relevance of which is objectively due to the significance of the functioning of the above-mentioned participants in the electoral process. Theoretical analysis. The current electoral legislation establishes an exhaustive definition of the term of “observer”, which rightly focuses on the grounds for obtaining the appropriate status, and also emphasizes the importance of the functioning of observers at certain stages of the electoral process. Empirical analysis. The legal status of observers is regulated in detail by the electoral legislation of the Russian Federation, however, the main attention is paid to their rights, while the obligations of these participants in electoral legal relations are fixed fragmentarily. Results. The author identified practical problems in the activity of election observers in the Russian Federation (the priority of political attitudes in the activity of observers; the low level of legal culture and electoral literacy of observers; the spread of illegal behavior among observers), the development of which is facilitated, among other things, by the significant predominance of powers in the status of these persons. Based on the analysis, it is noted that there is a need to systematize existing norms and fill in existing legal gaps, in connection with which proposals are formulated to regulate the duties of observers in the Federal Law "On basic guarantees of electoral rights and the right to participate in the referendum of the citizens of the Russian Federation".

elections, observers, legal status of observers, electoral legislation, electoral process