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By Lucy Papachristou
LONDON (Reuters) – An impartial Russian vote monitoring group stated on Monday that the presidential election that Vladimir Putin received in a landslide with almost 90% of the vote was probably the most fraudulent and corrupt within the nation’s historical past.
Golos (Voice) stated the three-day election that ended on Sunday couldn’t be thought of real as a result of “the marketing campaign came about in a state of affairs the place the basic articles of the Russian Structure, guaranteeing political rights and freedoms, had been primarily not in impact”.
“By no means earlier than have we seen a presidential marketing campaign that fell to date wanting constitutional requirements,” the group stated in a press release.
The Kremlin on Monday hailed the consequence, on a file turnout of 77.4%, as displaying that the Russian individuals had “consolidated” round Putin. It stated Western makes an attempt to painting the election as illegitimate had been absurd.
The USA, Germany, Britain and others have stated the vote was neither free nor truthful as a result of imprisonment of political opponents and censorship.
Based in 2000, Golos is the one Russian electoral watchdog impartial of the authorities. Branded a “international agent” in 2013, it was barred from sending observers to polling stations. One in every of its leaders, Grigory Melkonyants, is in jail awaiting trial on what Golos says are politicised fees.
Russia’s electoral fee stated the vote came about underneath correct scrutiny. It stated there have been a 3rd of one million Russian observers, nominated by candidates, events and social organisations, in addition to a whole bunch from overseas.
PRESSURE
However Golos stated candidates and events had kept away from sending observers in some areas. In others, observers had been withdrawn after voting commenced, it stated.
“In personal conversations, representatives of candidates and events admitted that this was completed underneath strain,” Golos stated.
Different “undesirable” observers had been faraway from polling stations and given summonses to look at army registration workplaces throughout the voting interval, whereas others had been detained and searched, it added.
Golos stated examples of voter intimidation included the presence of legislation enforcement officers in polling stations and stories that officers peered over voters’ shoulders to learn their ballots.
One officer at a polling website within the Moscow area “snatched the finished poll from one voter’s hand and checked who she voted for”, the group stated.
Officers at one other Moscow website demanded a neighborhood electoral official open a sealed poll field and hand over one of many slips, Golos stated.
Reuters couldn’t independently confirm these incidents.
There have been scattered incidents of protests at polling stations. Some Russians set hearth to voting cubicles or poured inexperienced dye into poll packing containers.
Calling such individuals “scumbags,” Russia’s election chief warned those that tried to disrupt voting would face 5 years in jail, and former president Dmitry Medvedev stated they may very well be charged with treason.
At the very least 74 individuals had been arrested throughout Russia on Sunday’s closing day of voting, in accordance with rights group OVD-Data.
(This story has been refiled to repair a typo within the second bullet level)
(Reporting and writing by Lucy Papachristou; Modifying by Mark Trevelyan and Gareth Jones)
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