Fairness of Russian presidential election, 2008
Encyclopedia
The fairness of the 2008 Russian presidential election
is disputed, with election monitoring groups giving conflicting reports. Most official reports accept that not all candidates had equal media coverage and that some election monitoring groups had restricted access to perform their role. Monitoring groups found a number of other irregularities, but made no official reports of fraud or ballot stuffing
.
monitoring group stated that "the Election Day was held in a relatively quiet atmosphere in contrast to the State Duma election day
. Such large-scale violations observed then as campaigning next to polling stations, transporting of voters, intimidation of voters and others were practically non-existent." They did however report irregularities in the election. Some of the more serious irregularities reported were:
observer mission said the election was free and democratic. "The CIS observer mission states that the election is a major factor in the further democratization of public life in the Russian Federation, and recognizes it as free, open and transparent," said Nauryz Aidarov, head of the CIS mission.
observer delegation was the only Western organization to monitor the election, with other Western organizations citing alleged restrictions imposed by Russia making it "impossible for them to capture an accurate picture of campaigning."
The PACE delegation concluded that no election fraud or major violations took place and that its outcome broadly reflected the will of the people, but said that not all candidates had equal media coverage. Andreas Gross, the head of the 22-member observation mission, denounced the process, saying "It is still not free and still not fair."
The PACE observing group stated that the result of the election was a "reflection of the will of an electorate whose democratic potential was, unfortunately, not tapped." They said "In the elections, which had more the character of a plebiscite on the last eight years in this country, the people of Russia voted for the stability and continuity associated with the incumbent President and the candidate promoted by him. The President-elect will have a solid mandate given to him by the majority of Russians." Chairman Andreas Gross said there had been "uneven access" to the media during the campaign, a claim made by two of the candidates, who complained of overwhelming bias towards Medvedev by state television. He also "lamented" the absence of independent candidates in the poll, such as Mikhail Kasyanov
, who he said were "deliberately excluded" from the race.
The group had concerns over candidate registration and concluded that unfair access to media put into question the overall fairness of the vote. According to the group, the election "repeated most of the flaws revealed during the Duma elections of December 2007
." A pre-election PACE mission found one month earlier that voters had limited choice. The mission pointed to "insurmountable difficulties" facing candidates willing to register. According to the mission, "an election where there is not a level playing field for all contestants can hardly be considered as fair."
On the other hand, Russia Today
's editorial said Bernard Perego confirmed that the election met international standards. “After we discussed what we saw, we came to the conclusion that the election was excellent in the way it was organized and that it met Western standards”. Russia Today said Bernard Perego was "a Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe
member" at the time of the election.
RussiaToday quoted a European observer - “Everyone is asking me what’s been happening. Everyone is waiting for something unusual. But for me it’s been quite boring. Everything is just like in France, in Italy, in the United States,” one of the observers said.
said the election was free, fair and in line with international standards.
and France
made clear the vote did not meet their criteria for a democratic election, but alongside Britain
and the European Union they congratulated Medvedev on a victory they said appeared to reflect the will of the Russian people.
and Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe for libel "hurting reputation of the Russian Federation". They filed lawsuits in the courts of Russia, Ukraine
, Georgia
and Moldova
. So far only the Leninsky Raion Court of Sevastopol
, Ukraine
decided that PACE and OCSE are guilty in libel and fined them 30 million Ukrainian hryvnia
s (approximately US$6 Million). Nashi threatened to demand confiscation of European property in the Post-Soviet states
if the decision of the Ukrainian court will be ignored. According to Maksim Novikov and Leonid Rayevsky of Nezavisimaya Gazeta
, PACE removed their December 3, 2007 statement on Russian Elections following the court decision. PACE criticized organizers of the earlier State Duma
elections in its December 3, 2007 statement.
said that no serious violations occurred in the presidential election campaign - "There were no serious violations in the canvassing campaign, and each candidate had broad possibilities to present his program and views". He also said that media coverage for the presidential election had been "fair but not equal".
Prior to the election, head of the International Affairs Committee at the State Duma, Konstantin Kosachyov, criticized Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe
chairman Andreas Gross for making statements that could affect voter behavior before the election results are known, calling his statements "an attempt to exert pressure on our country and our people through the international monitoring procedure". "I think Gross... grossly violated Russian law... and PACE regulations." Kosachyov said. His statement echoed a warning to PACE observers made by Russia's Central Election Commission chief Vladimir Churov
that any comments made ahead of the country's March 2 polls could be considered interference in Russia's internal policies. Kosachyov also accused international election monitors of lacking strict monitoring rules.
said:
, who gathered 17.7% of the vote, says that
who got 9.3% of the vote emphasized that the elections were the
, who garnered 1.3% of the vote, says he hasn’t noticed significant violations of the election process:
stated on the election day:
According to Kasyanov, NTV
and other media intentionally lied to people about the Central Electoral Commission finding 60 thousand counterfeit signatures in his presidency bid. He says that despite very strong pressure by the local FSB and police in many Russian regions put on the people signing Kasyanovs bid to give false evidence of forgery, out of more than 2 million signatures only 170 were found to be made by different people. The rest of the contested signatures were related to minor technical problems with the gathered documents.
Vladimir Kozlov and Dmitry Oreshkin analysed results from the polling stations that used electronic ballot counting systems (KOIB or kompleksy po obrabotke izbiratelnykh bulletney, complexes for processing of electoral ballots) and the polling stations that utilized manual counting of ballots. In Moscow on the polling stations with automatic ballot counting the average participations was 57.3% with 65.9% out of this number voting for Dmitri Medvedev. In the polling stations with manual processing of ballots the participation was 70.5% with 75.3% voting for Dmitri Medvedev. The similar results were obtained for other Russian regions. Moreover some polling stations used automatic ballot processing for Russian presidential election, 2008
but manual processing for Russian legislative election, 2007
registered significant shift from the winning candidate towards the opposition while all the stations that used automatic processing for the legislative elections but manual for the presidential elections registered a dramatic shift in support for the winning candidates. According to the authors the data prove a significant manipulations (about ten percent) on the polling station in support for Dmitri Medvedev and the United Russia
. According to the head of Russian Central Elections Commission (CEC) Vladimir Churov
in future the Election Commission would use only manual ballot processing.
demanded to recognize these elections as a special operation and a fabrication.
reported that Mr Medvedev has been mentioned over six times more often than his three rivals in 1,000 different news sources, according to figures from SCAN, a media database owned by Interfax, but stated that this could be due to Medvedev's high profile job as chairman of the state-owned gas monopoly, Gazprom
.
A report by the International Herald Tribune
described Medvedev's election as "the culmination of Putin's efforts to consolidate control over the government, business and the news media since taking office eight years ago."
Prior to the election, British news outlet The Guardian
quoted Marina Dashenkova of the GOLOS Association
, Renat Suleymanov of the Communist party in Novosibirsk, Vladimir Bespalov of the Vladivostok parliament and others accusing the Russian government of pressuring government employees and students to vote. In another report they painted Medvedev as a "clone" of Mr. Putin.
According to Russia Today
, many in the Western media portrayed Russia's presidential election as nothing but a farce. It reported that the claims of rigging the election were not supported by the various international election monitoring organizations in attendance. Russia Today quoted a monitor from Slovakia and leader of the Slovak National Party, Anna Belousovova, saying
According to Vladimir Churov
, head of the Central Election Commission of Russia (CECR), most western critics of the election either did not provide any sources, or provided invalid sources for their allegations. Among the invalid sources, he mentioned 'observers from "human rights" organizations, and activists of the opposition such as Communist
Gennady Zyuganov
and Maria Gaidar
from the liberal camp
'. The CECR is considering suing western media and their Russian sources for libel.
claimed that there were forged election protocols and cases when independent observers were not allowed to monitor the election process. Journalist Victor Shenderovich
claims that only 3.5% of voters came to the elections in certain North Caucasus regions according to independent observers, whereas the Central Election committee reporter more than 90% turnaround.
Writer and radio host Yulia Latynina
, known for her often sharp, polemic
and radical statements
, particularly for her claim that Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi
, French President Jacques Chirac
, Chancellor of Germany Gerhard Schröder
, and U.S. President George W. Bush
have all been successfully "recruited" by Vladimir Putin to serve his political objectives, and her prediction that Mr.Putin would secure a third term, said at the Echo of Moscow
that election fraud was inevitable. She said that according to Russian laws, local election committees are free to rewrite the election protocol after asking the independent observers to leave the voting place; and members of those committees are not punishable for the election fraud. Even more important, she stresses, are alleged manipulations with the Russian computerized election system, which she claims follows pre-programmed instructions to automatically reject any favorable results for the opposition parties.
Political analyst and United Russia
member, Sergei Markov, said that the outcome of this poll was predetermined because of how much support the Russian people show for Vladimir Putin's policies. "The Russian people have seen how successful these policies have been, and they want them to continue", he says. Markov cited fears that the west would interfere and change the course of the election, like they did in Ukraine
and Georgia
.
Russian presidential election, 2008
The Russian Presidential election of 2008, held on March 2, 2008 resulted in the election of Dmitry Medvedev as the third President of Russia. Medvedev, whose candidacy was supported by incumbent president Vladimir Putin and five political parties , received 71% of the vote, and defeated...
is disputed, with election monitoring groups giving conflicting reports. Most official reports accept that not all candidates had equal media coverage and that some election monitoring groups had restricted access to perform their role. Monitoring groups found a number of other irregularities, but made no official reports of fraud or ballot stuffing
Ballot stuffing
Ballot stuffing is the illegal act of one person submitting multiple ballots during a vote in which only one ballot per person is permitted. The name originates from the earliest days of this practice in which people literally did stuff more than one ballot in a ballot box at the same time...
.
GOLOS Association
Representatives from the GOLOSGOLOS Association
For the Russian film, see Golos The GOLOS Association is a Russian civilian organization established in 2000 to protect the electoral rights of citizens and to foster civil society. As of 2008, the organization covers 40 Russian regions...
monitoring group stated that "the Election Day was held in a relatively quiet atmosphere in contrast to the State Duma election day
Russian legislative election, 2007
Legislative elections were held in the Russian Federation on 2 December 2007. At stake were the 450 seats in the State Duma, the lower house of the Federal Assembly of Russia . Eleven parties were included in the ballot, including Russia's largest party, United Russia, which was supported by...
. Such large-scale violations observed then as campaigning next to polling stations, transporting of voters, intimidation of voters and others were practically non-existent." They did however report irregularities in the election. Some of the more serious irregularities reported were:
- Incomplete combined protocols, as in 50% of polling stations in UfaUfa-Demographics:Nationally, dominated by Russian , Bashkirs and Tatars . In addition, numerous are Ukrainians , Chuvash , Mari , Belarusians , Mordovians , Armenian , Germans , Jews , Azeris .-Government and administration:Local...
, KostromaKostromaKostroma is a historic city and the administrative center of Kostroma Oblast, Russia. A part of the Golden Ring of Russian towns, it is located at the confluence of the Volga and Kostroma Rivers...
and KurskKurskKursk is a city and the administrative center of Kursk Oblast, Russia, located at the confluence of the Kur, Tuskar, and Seym Rivers. The area around Kursk was site of a turning point in the Russian-German struggle during World War II and the site of the largest tank battle in history... - Some voters being allowed keep their absentee ballots (e.g. at 41% of polling stations in V.Novgorod and at about 5% of polling stations in TomskTomskTomsk is a city and the administrative center of Tomsk Oblast, Russia, located on the Tom River. One of the oldest towns in Siberia, Tomsk celebrated its 400th anniversary in 2004...
, KazanKazanKazan is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Tatarstan, Russia. With a population of 1,143,546 , it is the eighth most populous city in Russia. Kazan lies at the confluence of the Volga and Kazanka Rivers in European Russia. In April 2009, the Russian Patent Office granted Kazan the...
, YekaterinburgYekaterinburgYekaterinburg is a major city in the central part of Russia, the administrative center of Sverdlovsk Oblast. Situated on the eastern side of the Ural mountain range, it is the main industrial and cultural center of the Urals Federal District with a population of 1,350,136 , making it Russia's...
and Ufa) - Massive voting with absentee ballots was reported from almost 10% of polling stations in the Republic of Mariy-El, at 7% of polling stations in TatarstanTatarstanThe Republic of Tatarstan is a federal subject of Russia located in the Volga Federal District. Its capital is the city of Kazan, which is one of Russia's largest and most prosperous cities. The republic borders with Kirov, Ulyanovsk, Samara, and Orenburg Oblasts, and with the Mari El, Udmurt,...
, at 9% of polling stations in IrkutskIrkutskIrkutsk is a city and the administrative center of Irkutsk Oblast, Russia, one of the largest cities in Siberia. Population: .-History:In 1652, Ivan Pokhabov built a zimovye near the site of Irkutsk for gold trading and for the collection of fur taxes from the Buryats. In 1661, Yakov Pokhabov...
and at 4,5% of polling stations in Yekaterinburg - Various government officials other than members of electoral commissions were reported at polling stations especially in OmskOmsk-History:The wooden fort of Omsk was erected in 1716 to protect the expanding Russian frontier along the Ishim and the Irtysh rivers against the Kyrgyz nomads of the Steppes...
(30,6% of polling stations), but in other regions as well (at 5-6% of polling stations in BarnaulBarnaul-Russian Empire:Barnaul was one of the earlier cities established in Siberia. Originally chosen for its proximity to the mineral-rich Altai Mountains and its location on a major river, the site was founded by the wealthy Demidov family in the 1730s. In addition to the copper which had originally...
, Adygea, Yekaterinburg, Yoshkar-OlaYoshkar-OlaYoshkar-Ola is the capital city of the Mari El Republic, Russia. Population: Yoshkar-Ola means red city in Mari. The current name is the third to have been given to the city. The city was known as Tsaryovokokshaysk before 1919 and as Krasnokokshaysk between 1919 and 1927...
, PermPermPerm is a city and the administrative center of Perm Krai, Russia, located on the banks of the Kama River, in the European part of Russia near the Ural Mountains. From 1940 to 1957 it was named Molotov ....
and PskovPskovPskov is an ancient city and the administrative center of Pskov Oblast, Russia, located in the northwest of Russia about east from the Estonian border, on the Velikaya River. Population: -Early history:...
)
Commonwealth of Independent States observer mission
The Commonwealth of Independent StatesCommonwealth of Independent States
The Commonwealth of Independent States is a regional organization whose participating countries are former Soviet Republics, formed during the breakup of the Soviet Union....
observer mission said the election was free and democratic. "The CIS observer mission states that the election is a major factor in the further democratization of public life in the Russian Federation, and recognizes it as free, open and transparent," said Nauryz Aidarov, head of the CIS mission.
Council of Europe
The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of EuropeParliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe
The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe , which held its first session in Strasbourg on 10 August 1949, can be considered the oldest international parliamentary assembly with a pluralistic composition of democratically elected members of parliament established on the basis of an...
observer delegation was the only Western organization to monitor the election, with other Western organizations citing alleged restrictions imposed by Russia making it "impossible for them to capture an accurate picture of campaigning."
The PACE delegation concluded that no election fraud or major violations took place and that its outcome broadly reflected the will of the people, but said that not all candidates had equal media coverage. Andreas Gross, the head of the 22-member observation mission, denounced the process, saying "It is still not free and still not fair."
The PACE observing group stated that the result of the election was a "reflection of the will of an electorate whose democratic potential was, unfortunately, not tapped." They said "In the elections, which had more the character of a plebiscite on the last eight years in this country, the people of Russia voted for the stability and continuity associated with the incumbent President and the candidate promoted by him. The President-elect will have a solid mandate given to him by the majority of Russians." Chairman Andreas Gross said there had been "uneven access" to the media during the campaign, a claim made by two of the candidates, who complained of overwhelming bias towards Medvedev by state television. He also "lamented" the absence of independent candidates in the poll, such as Mikhail Kasyanov
Mikhail Kasyanov
Mikhail Mikhailovich Kasyanov - was the Prime Minister of Russia from May 2000 to February 2004.He is the leader of the People's Democratic Union and an ex-member of the opposition coalition "The Other Russia".-Political career:...
, who he said were "deliberately excluded" from the race.
The group had concerns over candidate registration and concluded that unfair access to media put into question the overall fairness of the vote. According to the group, the election "repeated most of the flaws revealed during the Duma elections of December 2007
Russian legislative election, 2007
Legislative elections were held in the Russian Federation on 2 December 2007. At stake were the 450 seats in the State Duma, the lower house of the Federal Assembly of Russia . Eleven parties were included in the ballot, including Russia's largest party, United Russia, which was supported by...
." A pre-election PACE mission found one month earlier that voters had limited choice. The mission pointed to "insurmountable difficulties" facing candidates willing to register. According to the mission, "an election where there is not a level playing field for all contestants can hardly be considered as fair."
On the other hand, Russia Today
Russia Today
Russia Today may refer to:* Russia Today, an English language 24-hour television news channel from Russia. It was launched in 2005 and is not related to an online news service of the similar name operated by EIN News...
's editorial said Bernard Perego confirmed that the election met international standards. “After we discussed what we saw, we came to the conclusion that the election was excellent in the way it was organized and that it met Western standards”. Russia Today said Bernard Perego was "a Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe
Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe
The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe , which held its first session in Strasbourg on 10 August 1949, can be considered the oldest international parliamentary assembly with a pluralistic composition of democratically elected members of parliament established on the basis of an...
member" at the time of the election.
RussiaToday quoted a European observer - “Everyone is asking me what’s been happening. Everyone is waiting for something unusual. But for me it’s been quite boring. Everything is just like in France, in Italy, in the United States,” one of the observers said.
Shanghai Cooperation Organization
Observers from the Shanghai Cooperation OrganizationShanghai Cooperation Organization
The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation or SCO , is an intergovernmental mutual-security organisation which was founded in 2001 in Shanghai by the leaders of China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan...
said the election was free, fair and in line with international standards.
Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe
The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe boycotted the election because of what it called "severe restrictions" on its observers by the Russian government. After weeks of negotiations, Russia agreed to increase the observer numbers for the ODIHR mission and extend the time frame for its visit, but the ODIHR claimed that the offer still didn't meet their requirements, insisting that it needed to send at least 50 of its observers to Russia on February 15, five days before the date proposed by Moscow, in order effectively monitor the election campaign. Russia responded by insisting that it was complying fully with its international obligations and that its invitation for 400 monitors meets international standards. It accused the OSCE of attempting to politicize the dispute and that it suspected ODIHR's intention from the outset was to boycott the election, saying that the ODIHR had displayed "contempt for basic ethical norms ... which, it seems, indicates that ODIHR from the start was not even trying to agree on mutually acceptable conditions for monitoring."Members of European Union
GermanyGermany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
and France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
made clear the vote did not meet their criteria for a democratic election, but alongside Britain
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and the European Union they congratulated Medvedev on a victory they said appeared to reflect the will of the Russian people.
Russian reaction
Pro-Putin youth organization Nashi decided to sue the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of EuropeParliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe
The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe , which held its first session in Strasbourg on 10 August 1949, can be considered the oldest international parliamentary assembly with a pluralistic composition of democratically elected members of parliament established on the basis of an...
and Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe for libel "hurting reputation of the Russian Federation". They filed lawsuits in the courts of Russia, Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
, Georgia
Georgia (country)
Georgia is a sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the southwest by Turkey, to the south by Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. The capital of...
and Moldova
Moldova
Moldova , officially the Republic of Moldova is a landlocked state in Eastern Europe, located between Romania to the West and Ukraine to the North, East and South. It declared itself an independent state with the same boundaries as the preceding Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic in 1991, as part...
. So far only the Leninsky Raion Court of Sevastopol
Sevastopol
Sevastopol is a city on rights of administrative division of Ukraine, located on the Black Sea coast of the Crimea peninsula. It has a population of 342,451 . Sevastopol is the second largest port in Ukraine, after the Port of Odessa....
, Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
decided that PACE and OCSE are guilty in libel and fined them 30 million Ukrainian hryvnia
Ukrainian hryvnia
The hryvnia, sometimes hryvnya or grivna ; sign: ₴, code: , has been the national currency of Ukraine since September 2, 1996. The hryvnia is subdivided into 100 kopiyok. In medieval times, it was a currency of Kievan Rus'....
s (approximately US$6 Million). Nashi threatened to demand confiscation of European property in the Post-Soviet states
Post-Soviet states
The post-Soviet states, also commonly known as the Former Soviet Union or former Soviet republics, are the 15 independent states that split off from the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics in its dissolution in December 1991...
if the decision of the Ukrainian court will be ignored. According to Maksim Novikov and Leonid Rayevsky of Nezavisimaya Gazeta
Nezavisimaya Gazeta
Nezavisimaya Gazeta is a Russian daily newspaper. Published since December 21, 1990.Information ranging from a wide variety of sources, such as reporters, political scientists, historians, art historians, as well as critics are published in the newspaper...
, PACE removed their December 3, 2007 statement on Russian Elections following the court decision. PACE criticized organizers of the earlier State Duma
State Duma
The State Duma , common abbreviation: Госду́ма ) in the Russian Federation is the lower house of the Federal Assembly of Russia , the upper house being the Federation Council of Russia. The Duma headquarters is located in central Moscow, a few steps from Manege Square. Its members are referred to...
elections in its December 3, 2007 statement.
Election officials
The head of Russian Central Elections Commission (CEC) Vladimir ChurovVladimir Churov
Vladimir Yevgenyevich Churov is a Russian official and politician. Since March 26, 2007, he has been a member and the Chairman of the Central Election Commission of Russia....
said that no serious violations occurred in the presidential election campaign - "There were no serious violations in the canvassing campaign, and each candidate had broad possibilities to present his program and views". He also said that media coverage for the presidential election had been "fair but not equal".
Prior to the election, head of the International Affairs Committee at the State Duma, Konstantin Kosachyov, criticized Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe
Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe
The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe , which held its first session in Strasbourg on 10 August 1949, can be considered the oldest international parliamentary assembly with a pluralistic composition of democratically elected members of parliament established on the basis of an...
chairman Andreas Gross for making statements that could affect voter behavior before the election results are known, calling his statements "an attempt to exert pressure on our country and our people through the international monitoring procedure". "I think Gross... grossly violated Russian law... and PACE regulations." Kosachyov said. His statement echoed a warning to PACE observers made by Russia's Central Election Commission chief Vladimir Churov
Vladimir Churov
Vladimir Yevgenyevich Churov is a Russian official and politician. Since March 26, 2007, he has been a member and the Chairman of the Central Election Commission of Russia....
that any comments made ahead of the country's March 2 polls could be considered interference in Russia's internal policies. Kosachyov also accused international election monitors of lacking strict monitoring rules.
Dmitry Medvedev
The winner of the elections, Dmitry MedvedevDmitry Medvedev
Dmitry Anatolyevich Medvedev is the third President of the Russian Federation.Born to a family of academics, Medvedev graduated from the Law Department of Leningrad State University in 1987. He defended his dissertation in 1990 and worked as a docent at his alma mater, now renamed to Saint...
said:
- "The unprecedented level of the electoral activity is evidence that our citizens care about our country's future. Thank them very much for their participation in the electoral campaign: elections of the President of Russia."
Gennady Zyuganov
Presidential candidate Gennady ZyuganovGennady Zyuganov
Gennady Andreyevich Zyuganov is a Russian politician, First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation , Chairman of the Union of Communist Parties - Communist Party of the Soviet Union , deputy of the State Duma , and a member of Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe...
, who gathered 17.7% of the vote, says that
- "falsification of the results to achieve the required percentage reached fantastic proportions...According to the Communist PartyCommunist Party of the Russian FederationThe Communist Party of the Russian Federation is a Russian political party. It is the second major political party in the Russian Federation.-History:...
(CPRF) observers, Zyuganov got 23%-24% of the vote in the Russian Far EastRussian Far EastRussian Far East is a term that refers to the Russian part of the Far East, i.e., extreme east parts of Russia, between Lake Baikal in Eastern Siberia and the Pacific Ocean...
, more than 30% in Bryansk OblastBryansk OblastBryansk Oblast is a federal subject of Russia . Its administrative center is the city of Bryansk. Population: 1,278,087 .-History:...
, etc. When the electoral offices got the command to achieve Medvedev's results slightly less than Putin's on the 2004 electionRussian presidential election, 2004Presidential elections were held in Russia on 14 March 2004. Incumbent Vladimir Putin was seeking a second full four-year term. He was re-elected with 71.31% of the vote.-Sergey Glazyev:...
a BacchanaliaBacchanaliaThe bacchanalia were wild and mystic festivals of the Greco-Roman god Bacchus , the wine god. The term has since come to describe any form of drunken revelry.-History:...
began. In twenty regions the electronic equipment was switched off and there were attempts to rewrite the protocols. It didn't go smoothly everywhere but in many places it worked. The president of BashkortostanBashkortostanThe Republic of Bashkortostan , also known as Bashkiria is a federal subject of Russia . It is located between the Volga River and the Ural Mountains. Its capital is the city of Ufa...
lowered Zyuganov's vote to below 7% while on all the districts there CPRF observers were present the result was 23%-24%. A similar pattern was observed in TatarstanTatarstanThe Republic of Tatarstan is a federal subject of Russia located in the Volga Federal District. Its capital is the city of Kazan, which is one of Russia's largest and most prosperous cities. The republic borders with Kirov, Ulyanovsk, Samara, and Orenburg Oblasts, and with the Mari El, Udmurt,...
, IngushetiaIngushetiaThe Republic of Ingushetia is a federal subject of Russia , located in the North Caucasus region with its capital at Magas. In terms of area, the republic is the smallest of Russia's federal subjects except for the two federal cities, Moscow and Saint Petersburg...
, MordoviaMordoviaThe Republic of Mordovia , also known as Mordvinia, is a federal subject of Russia . Its capital is the city of Saransk. Population: -Geography:The republic is located in the eastern part of the East European Plain of Russia...
. The special case was ChechnyaChechnyaThe Chechen Republic , commonly referred to as Chechnya , also spelled Chechnia or Chechenia, sometimes referred to as Ichkeria , is a federal subject of Russia . It is located in the southeastern part of Europe in the Northern Caucasus mountains. The capital of the republic is the city of Grozny...
. In Oryol OblastOryol OblastOryol Oblast is a federal subject of Russia . Its administrative center is the city of Oryol. Population: -Geography:It is located in the southwestern part of the Central Federal District, in the Mid-Russian Highlands. Kaluga and Tula Oblasts border it in the north, Bryansk Oblast is located to...
(the birthplace of Zyuganov) up to 30% of Zyuganov's ballots were intentionally made invalid and thrown to the rubbish bin. Electoral observers from CPRF there were asked to leave the voting place for 5-10 minutes for the "special actions" with the ballots, otherwise the results would not be accepted by the electoral commission"
Vladimir Zhirinovsky
Presidential candidate Vladimir ZhirinovskyVladimir Zhirinovsky
Vladimir Volfovich Zhirinovsky is a Russian politician, colonel of the Russian Army, founder and the leader of the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia , Vice-Chairman of the State Duma, and a member of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe....
who got 9.3% of the vote emphasized that the elections were the
- "historical moment when the first time in the history of Russia the power goes from one human to another according to the Constitution, the laws on the legislative and presidential elections. We have waited this for one hundred years. For one hundred years our country did not see a peaceful transfer of powers!"
Andrey Bogdanov
Presidential candidate Andrey BogdanovAndrei Vladimirovich Bogdanov
Andrey Vladimirovich Bogdanov is a Russian politician. He is the leader of the Democratic Party of Russia and a Freemason, Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Russia...
, who garnered 1.3% of the vote, says he hasn’t noticed significant violations of the election process:
- "I’m satisfied with my result. I can say that neither the Democratic Party, nor I have any significant criticism of the election process. There have been minor violations which can hardly be called such"
Mikhail Kasyanov
Dismissed presidential candidate Mikhail KasyanovMikhail Kasyanov
Mikhail Mikhailovich Kasyanov - was the Prime Minister of Russia from May 2000 to February 2004.He is the leader of the People's Democratic Union and an ex-member of the opposition coalition "The Other Russia".-Political career:...
stated on the election day:
- "I do not care what the numbers: 60, 70 or 120 percent will be officially announced. Today is the day of completion for the KGB operation on illegitimate transfer of power".
- "Today are funerals of democracy in Russia, but it died earlier: between December and January when the Government violated the fundamental constitutional right of citizens: the right for a free election, free choice and the possibility to elect their own candidates rather than the ones enforced from above."
According to Kasyanov, NTV
NTV Russia
NTV is a Russian television channel. As a subsidiary of Vladimir Gusinsky's company Media-Most, it was a pioneer in the post-Soviet independent television media, but was later taken over by state-owned Gazprom.- History :...
and other media intentionally lied to people about the Central Electoral Commission finding 60 thousand counterfeit signatures in his presidency bid. He says that despite very strong pressure by the local FSB and police in many Russian regions put on the people signing Kasyanovs bid to give false evidence of forgery, out of more than 2 million signatures only 170 were found to be made by different people. The rest of the contested signatures were related to minor technical problems with the gathered documents.
Statistical analysis of the election reports
Russian programmer Shpilkin analyzed the results of Medvedev's election statistically and came to a conclusion that the results were falsified by the election committees. However, after the correction for the falsification factor the Medvedev still came out as a winner, although with less impressive numbers. Shpilkin's analysis revealed typical statistics (for example Gaussian distribution of the percent of votes for the whole sample of voting stations) for all presidential candidates except for Medvedev. In case of Medvedev, statistical distributions were highly abnormal. Namely, there was a clear correlation between the reported voting attendance and the percent of votes for Medvedev, with spikes of votes for Medvedev at the round voting attendance numbers (85, 90, 95, 100%) and an enormous peak for the unrealistic, but numerous 100% attendance. Shpilking concluded that these extra votes for Medvedev were either added by the election officials or resulted from the voting of the state employees commanded to vote in a certain way. After Shpilking subtracted the extra votes, Medvedev still lead the elections, but with 63% of votes instead of 70%.Vladimir Kozlov and Dmitry Oreshkin analysed results from the polling stations that used electronic ballot counting systems (KOIB or kompleksy po obrabotke izbiratelnykh bulletney, complexes for processing of electoral ballots) and the polling stations that utilized manual counting of ballots. In Moscow on the polling stations with automatic ballot counting the average participations was 57.3% with 65.9% out of this number voting for Dmitri Medvedev. In the polling stations with manual processing of ballots the participation was 70.5% with 75.3% voting for Dmitri Medvedev. The similar results were obtained for other Russian regions. Moreover some polling stations used automatic ballot processing for Russian presidential election, 2008
Russian presidential election, 2008
The Russian Presidential election of 2008, held on March 2, 2008 resulted in the election of Dmitry Medvedev as the third President of Russia. Medvedev, whose candidacy was supported by incumbent president Vladimir Putin and five political parties , received 71% of the vote, and defeated...
but manual processing for Russian legislative election, 2007
Russian legislative election, 2007
Legislative elections were held in the Russian Federation on 2 December 2007. At stake were the 450 seats in the State Duma, the lower house of the Federal Assembly of Russia . Eleven parties were included in the ballot, including Russia's largest party, United Russia, which was supported by...
registered significant shift from the winning candidate towards the opposition while all the stations that used automatic processing for the legislative elections but manual for the presidential elections registered a dramatic shift in support for the winning candidates. According to the authors the data prove a significant manipulations (about ten percent) on the polling station in support for Dmitri Medvedev and the United Russia
United Russia
United Russia is a centrist political party in Russia and the largest party in the country, currently holding 315 of the 450 seats in the State Duma. The party was founded in December 2001, through a merger of the Unity and Fatherland-All Russia parties...
. According to the head of Russian Central Elections Commission (CEC) Vladimir Churov
Vladimir Churov
Vladimir Yevgenyevich Churov is a Russian official and politician. Since March 26, 2007, he has been a member and the Chairman of the Central Election Commission of Russia....
in future the Election Commission would use only manual ballot processing.
Political analysts
Former Putin's economic policy adviser Andrey IllarionovAndrey Illarionov
Andrey Nikolayevich Illarionov is a Russian libertarian economist and former economic policy advisor to the President of Russia, Vladimir Putin...
demanded to recognize these elections as a special operation and a fabrication.
Western Press
The EconomistThe Economist
The Economist is an English-language weekly news and international affairs publication owned by The Economist Newspaper Ltd. and edited in offices in the City of Westminster, London, England. Continuous publication began under founder James Wilson in September 1843...
reported that Mr Medvedev has been mentioned over six times more often than his three rivals in 1,000 different news sources, according to figures from SCAN, a media database owned by Interfax, but stated that this could be due to Medvedev's high profile job as chairman of the state-owned gas monopoly, Gazprom
Gazprom
Open Joint Stock Company Gazprom is the largest extractor of natural gas in the world and the largest Russian company. Its headquarters are in Cheryomushki District, South-Western Administrative Okrug, Moscow...
.
A report by the International Herald Tribune
International Herald Tribune
The International Herald Tribune is a widely read English language international newspaper. It combines the resources of its own correspondents with those of The New York Times and is printed at 38 sites throughout the world, for sale in more than 160 countries and territories...
described Medvedev's election as "the culmination of Putin's efforts to consolidate control over the government, business and the news media since taking office eight years ago."
Prior to the election, British news outlet The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
quoted Marina Dashenkova of the GOLOS Association
GOLOS Association
For the Russian film, see Golos The GOLOS Association is a Russian civilian organization established in 2000 to protect the electoral rights of citizens and to foster civil society. As of 2008, the organization covers 40 Russian regions...
, Renat Suleymanov of the Communist party in Novosibirsk, Vladimir Bespalov of the Vladivostok parliament and others accusing the Russian government of pressuring government employees and students to vote. In another report they painted Medvedev as a "clone" of Mr. Putin.
According to Russia Today
Russia Today
Russia Today may refer to:* Russia Today, an English language 24-hour television news channel from Russia. It was launched in 2005 and is not related to an online news service of the similar name operated by EIN News...
, many in the Western media portrayed Russia's presidential election as nothing but a farce. It reported that the claims of rigging the election were not supported by the various international election monitoring organizations in attendance. Russia Today quoted a monitor from Slovakia and leader of the Slovak National Party, Anna Belousovova, saying
- There were some critics who didn’t even bother to get themselves familiar with the way the election system works here. They started saying straightaway that the election was undemocratic. But I think that the citizens of Russia stopped the mouths of those critics with their high turnout. The main attribute of a democratic country is that all decisions are made by the people. Politicians and everybody else should respect the choice of people.
According to Vladimir Churov
Vladimir Churov
Vladimir Yevgenyevich Churov is a Russian official and politician. Since March 26, 2007, he has been a member and the Chairman of the Central Election Commission of Russia....
, head of the Central Election Commission of Russia (CECR), most western critics of the election either did not provide any sources, or provided invalid sources for their allegations. Among the invalid sources, he mentioned 'observers from "human rights" organizations, and activists of the opposition such as Communist
Communist Party of the Russian Federation
The Communist Party of the Russian Federation is a Russian political party. It is the second major political party in the Russian Federation.-History:...
Gennady Zyuganov
Gennady Zyuganov
Gennady Andreyevich Zyuganov is a Russian politician, First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation , Chairman of the Union of Communist Parties - Communist Party of the Soviet Union , deputy of the State Duma , and a member of Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe...
and Maria Gaidar
Maria Gaidar
Maria Egorovna Gaidar is a Russian political activist and the founder of the Youth movement "DA!" . She is the daughter of former Russian Prime Minister, Yegor Gaidar. On July 23, 2009 she was confirmed as a deputy governor in Kirov Oblast.She was one of the leaders of The Other Russia...
from the liberal camp
The Other Russia
The Other Russia , sometimes cited as Another Russia, is an umbrella coalition that gathered opponents of former President of Russia Vladimir Putin...
'. The CECR is considering suing western media and their Russian sources for libel.
Russian journalists
Russian Novaya GazetaNovaya Gazeta
Novaya Gazeta is a Russian newspaper well known in the country for its critical and investigative coverage of Russian political and social affairs....
claimed that there were forged election protocols and cases when independent observers were not allowed to monitor the election process. Journalist Victor Shenderovich
Victor Shenderovich
Victor Anatolievich Shenderovich is a popular Russian satirist, writer and scriptwriter. In 1980, Shenderovich graduated from the Moscow State Art and Cultural University, specialising in "direction of volunteer theatrical groups"...
claims that only 3.5% of voters came to the elections in certain North Caucasus regions according to independent observers, whereas the Central Election committee reporter more than 90% turnaround.
Writer and radio host Yulia Latynina
Yulia Latynina
Yulia Leonidovna Latynina is a Russian journalist, writer and radio host. She works at the radio station Echo of Moscow. She also writes for Novaya Gazeta and The Moscow Times.-Writer, journalist and radio host:...
, known for her often sharp, polemic
Polemic
A polemic is a variety of arguments or controversies made against one opinion, doctrine, or person. Other variations of argument are debate and discussion...
and radical statements
Political radicalism
The term political radicalism denotes political principles focused on altering social structures through revolutionary means and changing value systems in fundamental ways...
, particularly for her claim that Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi
Silvio Berlusconi
Silvio Berlusconi , also known as Il Cavaliere – from knighthood to the Order of Merit for Labour which he received in 1977 – is an Italian politician and businessman who served three terms as Prime Minister of Italy, from 1994 to 1995, 2001 to 2006, and 2008 to 2011. Berlusconi is also the...
, French President Jacques Chirac
Jacques Chirac
Jacques René Chirac is a French politician who served as President of France from 1995 to 2007. He previously served as Prime Minister of France from 1974 to 1976 and from 1986 to 1988 , and as Mayor of Paris from 1977 to 1995.After completing his studies of the DEA's degree at the...
, Chancellor of Germany Gerhard Schröder
Gerhard Schröder
Gerhard Fritz Kurt Schröder is a German politician, and was Chancellor of Germany from 1998 to 2005. A member of the Social Democratic Party of Germany , he led a coalition government of the SPD and the Greens. Before becoming a full-time politician, he was a lawyer, and before becoming Chancellor...
, and U.S. President George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
have all been successfully "recruited" by Vladimir Putin to serve his political objectives, and her prediction that Mr.Putin would secure a third term, said at the Echo of Moscow
Echo of Moscow
Echo of Moscow is a Russian radio station based in Moscow, broadcasting in many Russian cities, in some of the former-Soviet republics , and via the Internet, which some observers describe as "the last bastion of free media in Russia"...
that election fraud was inevitable. She said that according to Russian laws, local election committees are free to rewrite the election protocol after asking the independent observers to leave the voting place; and members of those committees are not punishable for the election fraud. Even more important, she stresses, are alleged manipulations with the Russian computerized election system, which she claims follows pre-programmed instructions to automatically reject any favorable results for the opposition parties.
Political analyst and United Russia
United Russia
United Russia is a centrist political party in Russia and the largest party in the country, currently holding 315 of the 450 seats in the State Duma. The party was founded in December 2001, through a merger of the Unity and Fatherland-All Russia parties...
member, Sergei Markov, said that the outcome of this poll was predetermined because of how much support the Russian people show for Vladimir Putin's policies. "The Russian people have seen how successful these policies have been, and they want them to continue", he says. Markov cited fears that the west would interfere and change the course of the election, like they did in Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
and Georgia
Georgia (country)
Georgia is a sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the southwest by Turkey, to the south by Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. The capital of...
.