Russian ballot

Massive violations of the law reported in regional elections

A voter from the Kursk region (right) casting his vote(Bild: APA/AP)

Millions of Russians have voted for new governors, regional parliaments and mayors in the wake of the war of aggression against Ukraine. Independent observers from the "Golos" organization, ostracized by the Kremlin as a "foreign agent", also registered a large number of electoral law violations on the last of the three days.

Employees were urged to vote by their employers, some of whom were followed to the polling booths. As always, there were also multiple votes. "Golos" had already stated in advance that the power apparatus in Moscow was doing everything it could to help representatives of the Kremlin party United Russia into political office. Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin, who himself voted online for the new Moscow City Council, said in a Kremlin video that elections are always "of great importance for political stability in the country, and today this is particularly important".

Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin wants the elections to signal a semblance of normality despite times of war.(Bild: AFP)

While the organization "Golos", which advocates the observance of voters' rights, listed hundreds of violations on the days of the vote, the election director appointed by Putin, Ella Pamfilova, announced in Moscow that there had been no relevant incidents. At the same time, she criticized the fact that representatives of other parties had attracted attention more often than ever before for their "unworthy" behaviour. 

Some of the party members had also disrupted the work of the local election commissions, Pamfilova claimed. In the Bryansk region, for example, the communists came under fire for "destructive" behavior. Communist leader Gennady Zyuganov rejected the election administration's accusations as false. Like others, the party had previously complained that some of its candidates had been denied registration. 

Criticism of election in annexed Crimea
In a statement, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry criticized the elections held on the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea, which was annexed by Russia in 2014. The ballot was a farce and a violation of international law. It had nothing to do with the will of the voters and was therefore null and void, the ministry stated. The politicians standing for election were in no way legitimized by the Ukrainian side. The Foreign Ministry also announced that those involved in organizing the elections would be prosecuted. 

The vote was seen as a mood test for the Kremlin, which is under particular pressure due to the Ukrainian offensive on Russian territory in the Kursk region and the shelling of border areas. More than 57 million people were called to vote. At times, however, voter turnout was below 50 percent. Full results are expected on Monday.