The Moscow Duma elections saw multiple violations despite
the reports of the Moscow Electoral Commission that “no grave
violations” were registered during this election.
Thus, on the threashold of the election day, the Moscow Electoral
Commission had suddenly “run out of absentee voting certificates”.
This situation was observed in Otradnoye, Basmanniy, Beskudnikovo,
Strogino, Northern Tushino.
On the election day, October 11, observers from the YABLOKO
party were not allowed to implement their function. Thus,
YABLOKO’s activist Semyon Burd was deported from voting station
No 118 (Presnya) by force. The local electoral commission
gave Burd its decision prohibiting him to observe the counting
of votes. Such a decision was adopted in violation of the
Election Code. In Meschansky district YABLOKO’s observers
were deported from the voting station under a pretext that
the stamps on their documents did not overlap Sergei Mitrokhin’s
signature.
An hour before expiration of the time of voting (from 7 to
8 p.m.)YABLOKO received a storm of telephone calls from the
worried voters. The voters coming to the voting stations between
7 and 8p.m. found out that “someone” had already voted on
their behalf.
Also coaches full of “voters” (the so-called merry-go-round)
were commuting from one electoral district to another. The
same “passengers” of such coachers voted at several districts
several times. Such coaches were observed at Begovaya, Mariyna
Roscha, Northern Medvedkovo, Arbat, Presnya and some other
districts. YABLOKO’s observers reported that such “voters”
put in a calendar with matryoshka or a white stripe of paper
in their passports (bulletins are given only after verification
of the passport data). A coach with a licence plate indicating
that it belonged to the Ministry of Defence and with a sign
“The Moscow City Duma 2009” was observed at Presnya. YABLOKO’s
attempt to stop this coach was halted by the road police.
The police also actively participated in fraud. Thus, YABLOKO’s
activists noticed by Tretyakovskaya metro station (by YABLOKO’s
office) that police stopped a man, checked his documents and
handed him a batch of bulletins as well as a list of voting
stations.
At Pyatnitskaya street YABLOKO’s activists also saw policemen
seeing several persons to a car with a sign “Elections”.
YABLOKO’s observers many times indicated that policemen allegedly
coming to vote tried to get a bulletin showing their police
card and not a passport (where registration is indicated so
that an electoral commission can see at what voting station
the citizen should vote) as required by law.
By Tulskaya and Nagatinskaya metro stations voters were offered
to get money for their votes.
Ballot-stuffing was observed at several districts (Krasnoslskoye,
Akademicheskaya, Left-bank, Northern Medvedkovo and other).
For example, one person put 41 ballots into the box (40 for
United Russia and 1 for communists) before voting begin. Then
he came once again and stuffed in 39 more ballots. Members
of the commission amended this violation, however, he came
against and stuffed in another batch. The commission adopted
a decision not to count this ballot-box. Such violations were
registered by YABLOKO’s and CPRF observers.
In Arbat 82 voters (who turned out to be all school teachers)
voted in the district they did not live in, at location of
their school, without absentee voting certificates.
In Otdanoye the local commission gave to old age pensioners
bulletins with markings as if they voted for the United Russia.
Old people often could not notice this due to problems with
eyesight.
Also mass-scale voting of students non-residents of the district
was also observed in Otradnoye. However, a representative
of the Territorial Commission refused to acknowledge this
violation.
A “reserve” electoral district (not indicated by the Moscow
Electoral Commission in its official documents) was detected
in the centre of the city (Smolenskaya naberezhnaya 5/13).
The entrance to this electoral district ran “Leisure Club”;
whereas the electoral districts should have a clear sign.
Mass-scale violations were detected in voting at home (allowed
for the sick or old age pensioners). Members of electoral
commissions in charge of such voters always took a considerably
larger number of bulletins than required in the citizens’
requests.
In the Northern Medvedkovo district the access to the voting
station was blocked from 8 a.m. to 9.30 a.m. The security
did not open the doors as they allegedly “had not got the
orders yet”.
Another grave violation was registered by YABLOKO’s observer
at electoral district No 123 (Tagansky area). Chair of the
commission gave bulletins to the citizens - non-residents
of the district who could not produce any absentee voting
certificates.
Detailed information (in Russian)
http://www.yabloko.ru
http://www.mosyabloko.ru
See also:
Moscow City
Duma Elections, 2009
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