Russia: Election Fraud at All Levels of the Vote
December 7th, 2011Ballots filled out with pens containing erasable ink?
Via: France24:
Opposition leaders called for a second round of mass demonstrations in Moscow on Tuesday, to protest against last weekend’s parliamentary election amid widespread claims of irregularities favouring Vladimir Putin’s United Russia party. Our Observer on the ground, who participated in Sunday’s election as an observer for an opposition party, described what he witnessed once the polls closed and counting began.
On Monday, President Dmitry Medvedev hailed the vote as “fair, honest and democratic” as official results revealed that the ruling United Russia party had lost a total of 77 seats in the State Duma, barely hanging on to its majority.
Although the results were largely interpreted as a sign of Putin and his party’s waning popularity, the prime minister – who hopes to resume his role at the helm of the country in Russia’s 2012 presidential elections – dismissed the poll’s significance, noting that United Russia still had enough of a majority to pass most legislation without seeking outside support.
Yet many who participated in Sunday’s elections claim support for Putin was grossly inflated by election fraud at all levels of the vote. These allegations were later backed up by European election monitors, who said the vote count was “characterized by frequent procedural violations and instances of apparent manipulation, including several serious indications of ballot box stuffing”.
As anger grew over the results, thousands turned out in Moscow on Monday evening to protest against the prime minister’s 12-year-reign, demanding a “Russia without Putin”. Police arrested at least 300 people at the demonstration, according to media reports.
