Russian presidential elections were "transparent, trustworthy and inclusive," President of the National Election Commission of the Central African Republic, Mathias Barthelemy Morouba, said at the meeting with Russia's Central Election Commission (CEC) Chairperson Ella Pamfilova.
"We found these elections to be transparent, trustworthy and inclusive. Transparency is ensured by the governing bodies, in particular, through election agents," he noted.
He ailed the work of Russia's Election Commission staff, who were "in proactive interaction with the voters," and noted that "the election materials provided to each polling station met the [above mentioned] criteria, if not international standards."
Morouba also highlighted the security at the polling stations, which was provided by "security forces who let the voters pass freely" and inside, by "installations, surveillance cameras, preventing any fraud or any action that could interfere with the proper conduct of these elections."
"We also saw that the voting took place on several levels in terms of inclusiveness. Every registered voter had the opportunity to vote remotely. [...] And we have also seen direct voting through voter turnout at polling stations on paper, document, hard copy or by electronic voting," he added.
"The mood was relaxed and cheerful as people were exercising their right to vote," Chairperson of the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission, Justice Priscilla Makanyara Chigumba, noted, commenting on the matter.
"We found the general atmosphere to be conducive for elections. [...] It is our view that this is a clear sign of a mature democracy in which elections are not perceived as a life and death activity," Chigumba said at the meeting.
Chigumba also commended "the people of Russia for exercising their right to vote in a peaceful environment" and the CEC "for managing the election in an efficient and professional manner."
"The Zimbabwe observation mission would like to congratulate the people of the Russian Federation for the high voter turnout, and for the overwhelming expression of their democratic right to vote," she added.
According to the CEC, Vladimir Putin was re-elected as Russia's leader with 87.28% of the vote. The elections were monitored by over 700 international observers from 106 countries.