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EU calls elections in Russia a sham
Germany and the European Union have criticized the start of parliamentary elections in Russia, pointing to what they described as their âstaged natureâ and repression against opposition figures. âUnfortunately, we will have to prepare once again for the results of a staged electoral ritual, which we will have to discuss next week,â a spokesperson for Germanyâs Foreign Ministry told journalists at a briefing in Berlin on Friday, September 18.
The European Union accused the Kremlin of using repression to deny voters âa real choice about the future of their country.â âThe way elections to the State Duma are being conducted demonstrates the ongoing and deepening erosion of democracy in Russia,â European Commission spokesperson Christian Wigand told reporters.
According to Wigand, Russian authorities have continued to intensify âsystematic and institutionalized repressionâ to bar democratic opposition forces from participating in the elections.
Ukraine has called on the international community not to recognize the results of the Russian State Duma elections being held on occupied Ukrainian territories. âNo so-called 'vote' organized by Russia at gunpoint changes the internationally recognized status of these territories,â Ukraineâs Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
The statement emphasized that Kyiv does not recognize the voting or its results on Ukrainian territory. Officials in Kyiv also warned that including deputies from Russia-occupied parts of Ukraine casts doubt on the legitimacy of the entire State Duma.
The ministry added: âAny election in todayâs Russia is nothing more than a farce,â describing the voting as âa spectacle designed to create the illusion of support for the Kremlin among the Russian population.â The Foreign Ministry also stressed that Russia has no democracy, no freedom of speech, and no pluralism of political parties, and that basic civil rights are not respected.
Parliamentary elections for a new convocation began across Russia from the morning of September 18. This is the first State Duma election since the launch of Russiaâs military invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Voting will take place over three days, spanning 11 time zones. There is little doubt that President Vladimir Putinâs United Russia party will be officially declared the winner. Aside from United Russia, only parties loyal to the Kremlin were allowed to contest these elections. The anti-war party Yabloko was banned from participating last month.
Regional and municipal elections are also being held at the same time. Voting is taking place in Ukrainian territories occupied by Russia as well.
Already at the opening of voting, Yabloko and other groups reported the first violations of election law. Yabloko leader Nikolai Rybakov called on Central Election Commission chair Ella Pamfilova to intervene.
Rybakov reported serious pressure on the partyâs election observers working across 20 regions. In Moscow, Saint Petersburg, and many other cities, observers were barred from polling stations despite having the right to monitor voting, according to Rybakov. In Tambov, all Yabloko observers were summoned to speak with the police and were warnedâwithout groundsâof alleged unlawful activity. Rybakov also accused Russian authorities of violating votersâ rights.
The Communist Party also said many of its observers were prevented from accessing polling stations. The human rights platform OVD-Info reported several hundred similar cases. According to OVD-Info and Yabloko, there were numerous incidents of employees of state institutions and enterprises being transported to polling sites in large buses. It was also alleged that government employees faced pressure to vote for United Russia.
In Moscow, many people complained that they were denied the right to vote at polling stations because they had been automatically registered for remote e-voting from home without their knowledge or consent, so no paper ballot was issued to them.
Meanwhile, the Kremlin published a video showing President Vladimir Putin casting his vote on a computer by clicking a mouse. The screen displayed the message: âThank you, you have successfully votedâ.
There were also reports of disruptions with online voting in some Russian regions. Human rights advocates have repeatedly criticized internet voting in Russia, warning that it is vulnerable to manipulation.