Putin’s victory blackened by vote-rigging accusations
Russian President Vladimir Putin and his allies have won a clear majority in Russia’s lower house of parliament.
Russia’s Communist Party, the main opposition, has been hit with significant losses in
Sunday’s elections and accuses the Kremlin of vote-rigging.
But the Organisation for Co-operation and Security in Europe criticised the ballot, saying it did not meet democratic standards approved by the EU council of ministers.
The OSCE highlighted the alleged misuse of state media to promote the pro-Kremlin United Russia alliance.
The OSCE said Mr Putin had taken “blatant advantage” of his position as President of Russia to distort the outcome of the general election there.
Though the elections were free, they were not “fair” the EU democracy watchdog said.
Bruce George, the president of the OSCE said last night: “Enormous advantages of incumbency and access to state equipment, resources and buildings led to the election results being overwhelmingly distorted and thereby this became one of the dominant issues of this campaign.”
Mr Putin, for his part, has hailed the election as a step forward for democracy in Russia. He told senior officials: “The election is another step in strengthening democracy in the Russian Federation.”
Mr Putin’s United Russia gained 37 per cent of the vote and is the largest party in the new Dumar.
The Liberal Democrat’s Foreign Affairs spokesman, Menzies Campbell, said President Putin should be “put on notice”: “We cannot overturn these elections, nor should we throw him out of the G7. I think however that Mr Putin needs to be put on notice that he is expected have to demonstrate that he has got commitment to democratic values.”
