Kremlin critics say free and fair election conditions were not met and Golos records violations
20 September 2021 - 21:44Russian President Vladimir Putin. Picture: REUTERS/ALEXANDER ZEMLIANICHENKO
The scale of the victory means United Russia will have more than two-thirds of deputies in the 450-seat State Duma lower house of parliament. This will enable it to continue to push through laws without having to rely on other parties. The US state department said the election conditions had not been conducive to free and fair proceedings, Britain’s foreign ministry called the vote a setback for democratic freedom, and EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said the bloc noted reports of serious violations.
“It’s a disgrace and a real crime,” Communist candidate Valery Rashkin told the crowd, saying his party would keep protesting until what he called the falsified electronic Moscow results were overturned. Rashkin said the protesters would be back on Saturday.“With such a colossal number of violations, the results of the State Duma elections cannot be recognised as clean, honest or legitimate,” said Lyubov Sobol, a Navalny aide.
Electoral authorities said they had voided any results at voting stations where there had been obvious irregularities and that the overall contest had been fair. The outcome is unlikely to change the political landscape, with Putin, who has been in power as president or prime minister since 1999, still dominating before the next presidential election in 2024.Dmitri Trenin, director of the Carnegie Moscow Center, said the Kremlin would see the election win as a victory for the political system it presides over.
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