All is ready for the December 4 parliamentary elections in Russia, the head of the Central Electoral Commission Vladimir Churov said at a video conference with district commissioners on Wednesday. He expressed confidence in smooth voting with no faults or violations.

The election race is in its closing stages now. Starting from Tuesday, November 29, the publication of any election forecasts in any printed or electronic media is banned. Saturday, December 3, will be a day of silence to enable voters to collect their thoughts and make their choices in a calm atmosphere. The campaign silence will stretch into the late hours of December 4. By 9 p.m., all polling stations will have been closed. The same evening, the first preliminary results will be announced. No exit poll data can be published before 9 p.m.

The election authorities are using what little time is left to check communications, electricity supply systems and security measures at more than 90,000 polling stations across the country. Over 100 million ballot sheets have been printed and delivered to the polling districts. Vladimir Churov:

"Russia is a multi-ethnic country, so in some regions the ballot sheets were printed in two or more languages. In Bashkiria, for example, the ballots are in Russian, Tatar and Bashkir, and in Mari El – in Russian, highland Mari and lowland Mari."

Polls will open in 145 countries with which Russia has diplomatic relations. Early voting is already under way in remote and hard-to-reach areas, but the results will be kept secret until late Sunday. Overseas voting will be monitored by Russian and foreign observers. A total of 649 international monitors form the CIS, OSCE, PACE, the Council of Europe, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and the Nordic Council have been accredited so far:

"We expect 500,000 representatives of political parties to observe the voting. Russia is one of the few countries in Europe, whose election laws allow the presence of international observers at federal polls. They have the same rights as their Russian colleagues except that they are not allowed to compile acts about voting violations. But foreign observers do not always have full respect for our laws. I often witnessed how they unceremoniously burst into our polling stations with their cameras switched on."

The law does not bar photo or video filming at polling stations. But no secret filming or full-face shots without a person’s consent are allowed.