Press Release, 08.12.2016

YABLOKO Chair Emilia Slabunova sent an official appeal to the Central Electoral Commission asking to retain videos from the polling stations for a least a year after the official announcement of the results of elections to the State Duma. Now the regional electoral commissions are allowed to independently determine the term of storing such videos, and often this term amounts only for a few months.

In September 2012, the Central Electoral Commission established that video records from polling stations had to be kept for one year. However, in August 2016, the Central Electoral Commission adopted another resolution which granted regional electoral commissions the right to develop and approve their own instructions on the use of video technology in elections.

The analysis of these regulations conducted by YABLOKO experts showed that regional electoral commissions tend to keep video records from polling station for a very short period. For example, electoral commissions in Tatarstan and the Sverdlovsk region established a storage period of three months, and six months in Karelia.

This grossly violates the basic principle of the franchise – the principle of equality of participants of the electoral process, runs the statement by Emilia Slabunova.

By law, it is the Central Election Commission which organises elections to the State Duma, and it can not transfer its authority to subordinate electoral commissions as regards parliamentary elections, including adoption of regulations. Consequently, video records made at polling stations on 18 September must be kept for at least one year from the date of the official announcement of elections.

YABLOKO proposes to mandatory keep video records not less than a year especially “in the situation of ongoing violations of the electoral law” in the Duma elections, and given the promises of the Chair of the Central Electoral Commission “to conduct thorough verification of the information on violations”.

Last week, the Supreme Court refused to satisfy the claim of the YABLOKO party on cancellation of the election results to the State Duma. YABLOKO insisted that violations and falsifications during the election campaign and on the voting day had not allowed to establish the real will of the voters.