Representatives of the International Election Observation «CIS-EMO» will monitor the presidential elections in South Ossetia, which will be held on November 13, 2011. It has been declared by representatives of this organization, arrived in South Ossetia with a working visit, at the press conference in Tskhinval. According to the Director General of CIS-EMO Alexei Kochetkov, the mission of observers is established by the International Organization for elections monitoring.
"Our mission will include the deputies of the Verkhovna Rada, the Ukraine's election commission representatives. In addition, some NGO representatives and politicians from Europe and CIS countries have expressed their desire to participate in the mission of our organization, "- said Kochetkov. He has noted that the presence of international observers at presidential elections in South Ossetia is following several very important tasks. "Firstly, the presence of international observers makes the voting process transparent not only to residents of the state but also to the international community - said Kochetkov. - Secondly, despite the fact that since the August war three years has passed, however, there is a definite factor of informational blockade of South Ossetia. And the presence of international observers, representatives of the parliaments of different countries at the elections - is the opportunity to break the informational blockade." According to Kochetkov, international observers will be able to provide the public of other countries with the objective, unbiased information about what is really happening in the country, that the democratic institutions are developing in South Ossetia and the country has chosen the democratic way of development. "In short, the generally accepted rules are observed in the Republic. Contest between the different candidates is also taking place. Accordingly, this is the evidence of fact that South Ossetia has been established as a state and it has perfectly firm development prospects just as the independent state, no matter what the opponents of the Republic say",- Kochetkov has noted. He has also informed that the international observers from countries which have not yet recognized the independence of South Ossetia will come to monitor the elections. In turn, an expert member of the «CIS-EMO» mission from Israel Avigtor Eskin has underlined, that to people of Israel it is very important the experience of conducting transparent elections and development of democratic state in South Ossetia. "When we look at South Ossetia from Israel, it is very important to us your experience, because implementing democracy in a small country is sometimes more natural and effective. My colleagues and I will be monitoring the elections in South Ossetia; it is joy and honor to us. We are familiar with the representatives of the Ossetian culture and know how many heroes came out of this country"-said Eskin. He expressed hope for further close cooperation between the two countries, as "Israel, like South Ossetia – is an example of how the ancient people after the two thousand years loss of its statehood have returned to their land and have been fighting for its integrity; and Israel has showed the world that one can fight and win, when the truth is on his side." According to the Ukrainian spokesman of the «CIS-EMO» mission Igor Kamennik, it is very important- participation of the deputies of the Verkhovna Rada, experts and lawyers from Ukraine in process of monitoring the presidential elections of the RSO, "to continue the work that is now gradually being carried out by the Verkhovna Rada on preparation of draft documents on decision of recognizing the independence of South Ossetia." "This process is certainly long, but, nevertheless, it is important that the deputies who will be observing the elections will also work on this issue. I understand that there is some suspicious attitude towards the Ukrainians, but I represent the city of Odessa, which, despite the fact that the Government of Ukraine supported Georgia in 2008, was collecting humanitarian aid for South Ossetia and opposed to the pro-Georgian propaganda in the south of Ukraine ", - said Kamennik. He has emphasized that the countries, unfriendly to Abkhazia and South Ossetia, are attentively observing the processes in these republics. "I hope that despite the problems, which we face constantly, as in Ukraine not everyone is ready to accept unequivocally the independence of South Ossetia, our mission will be able to strengthen the Ukrainian-South Ossetian relations and promote your experience, your democracy, to some extent were applied in Ukraine, where elections are regularly held ", - the expert has concluded. It should be noted, that the International Election Observation CIS-EMO was established and registered in Russia in September 2003 as an international NGO. The main declared goal of the organization is - assistance to preservation and development of the institution of election and its public control by the countries with developing democracy. Alexei Kochetkov (Russia) has been holding the post of CIS-EMO director since 2004. The governing body of the Organization is the Supreme Council, which comprises the authorized representatives of different countries. For today the Supreme Council includes representatives from Russia, Poland, Germany, France, Kyrgyzstan, Ukraine, Moldova, Belarus, Armenia, and Latvia. Since 2008, CIS-EMO is part of the Centre for Monitoring Democratic Processes «Quorum."
