Closed polls in Russia await Putin's victory

The United Russia party is ahead of the KPRF Communists in garnering 21.8% of the vote.

LDPR nationalists with 8.3% of the vote, then Fair Russia centrists, with 7.5%, and a newcomer to the political scene New people , 6.3%

All of these systems are compatible with the Kremlin.

The vote, which lasted three days from Friday to Sunday, aims to revise the 450 rules of the House of Representatives of the Duma, currently under the United Russia-dominated parliament. Local and regional elections also took place.

Half of the 450 seats in the Duma are allocated on a proportional basis. The rest are by a majority vote, and according to the Election Commission, United Russia is leading in 190 constituencies.

More votes for the Communists

In the previous 2016 legislative elections, the United Russia won 54.2% of the vote and the Communists 13.3%.

Again this year, despite a popularity rating of less than 30%, after several months of repression, United Russia is sure to win, which has severely weakened Vladimir Putin’s opponents.

For their part, the Communists seem to be on the way to improving their score, probably due to strategy The intelligent vote Developed by supporters of anti-corruption activist and mainstream opponent of the Kremlin, Alexei Navalny. The intelligent vote (mostly communist) aims to support the candidates There is no candidate against Putin Not allowed to attend.

Mr Navalny, 45, was jailed in January on a charge of political fraud. His systems were banned Terrorism Before the referendum, and many of its employees fled the country for fear of trial.

As for the decline in the popularity of United Russia, the party is being undermined by corruption cases, which are often manifested by the movement of Alexei Navalny. In addition, Russians have been declining their quality of life in recent years, which has been accelerated by the epidemic.

Photo by Alexei Navalny, courtesy of Moscow.

Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny at a court hearing in Moscow on February 2, 2021.

Photo: Reuters

Audit

In the face of the smart vote, Russian authorities in recent weeks have exerted unprecedented pressure on Internet giants whose sites have been used to spread pro-novelty methods, bending and succeeding. Google and Apple.

The latter agreed Friday to remove the mobile app The intelligent vote, Navalny’s allies immediately blamed the two American companies Give in to blackmail.

Google has blocked both lists in Russia containing these guidelines and published them in Google Docs, its word processing service and two videos on YouTube – it owns.

Mr Navalny’s team was instructed to download a virtual private network (VPN) on Twitter to avoid interruptions.

According to close sources interviewed byAFP, Google and Apple obeyed Moscow for fear of arresting their employees in Russia.

Moscow voter in an election office, voting by hand.

The referendum, which took place over three days, aims to renew the 450 rules of the House of Representatives of the Duma under the Russian parliament.

Photo: Reuters / Evgenia Novogenina

Ballot padding

Independent observers and opponents reported significant fraud throughout the poll, which was organized somewhat online.

From the listONG Expert Colossus has reported more than 4,600 irregularities, including ballot stuffing. The lack of transparency and clarity of the electoral system is obvious, The organization said.

Election Commission chairwoman Ella Pampilova rejected the demands The crimes were very low More than in the past, the Russian electoral system has changed Very obvious.

It is clear that United Russia suffered a severe defeat, On the YouTube channel Navalny-Live, said Leonid Volkov, on the close deportation of the enemy.

According to him, authorities are in the process Shamelessly lying [le décompte] In front of the whole worldThe results of the online vote, especially in Moscow, have been postponed Sign DieThe Russian capital is a stronghold of resistance.