Western Monitors Criticize Russian Elections
By DAVID M. HERSZENHORN
NYT
MOSCOW — Western election monitors said on Monday that they had observed blatant fraud, including the brazen stuffing of ballot boxes, in the parliamentary elections that delivered surprisingly big losses to United Russia, the party led by Prime Minister Vladimir V. Putin.
The election on Sunday left United Russia clinging to a slim majority, and while the monitors declined to draw firm conclusions, it was clear from their report that vote stealing and other alleged malfeasance could have shifted the outcome in United Russia’s favor.
The scathing report by international observers, combined with dramatic, mostly amateur, footage of alleged election malfeasance posted on the Web, made clear that the authorities would face continuing questions about the fairness of the vote despite the main party’s steep losses.
On Monday evening, thousands of demonstrators gathered on a promenade by the Chistye Prudy metro station in central Moscow, and voiced their opposition to the government at an event organized by the Solidarity Party. Throngs chanted “Russia without Putin!” and “Putin is a Thief.” Police officials estimated the crowd at about 2,000 though some participants said it was larger. There was a heavy police presence and some protesters were detained.
(More here.)
NYT
MOSCOW — Western election monitors said on Monday that they had observed blatant fraud, including the brazen stuffing of ballot boxes, in the parliamentary elections that delivered surprisingly big losses to United Russia, the party led by Prime Minister Vladimir V. Putin.
The election on Sunday left United Russia clinging to a slim majority, and while the monitors declined to draw firm conclusions, it was clear from their report that vote stealing and other alleged malfeasance could have shifted the outcome in United Russia’s favor.
The scathing report by international observers, combined with dramatic, mostly amateur, footage of alleged election malfeasance posted on the Web, made clear that the authorities would face continuing questions about the fairness of the vote despite the main party’s steep losses.
On Monday evening, thousands of demonstrators gathered on a promenade by the Chistye Prudy metro station in central Moscow, and voiced their opposition to the government at an event organized by the Solidarity Party. Throngs chanted “Russia without Putin!” and “Putin is a Thief.” Police officials estimated the crowd at about 2,000 though some participants said it was larger. There was a heavy police presence and some protesters were detained.
(More here.)
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