3,850 complaints about possible electoral irregularities were registered in Russian legislative assemblies

The Russians voted this Sunday in the last of three days of parliamentary elections, elections in which the majority of Kremlin opponents were unable to participate and President Vladimir Putin’s party plans to retain its majority in parliament. The vote, which the ruling United Russia party is set to win, follows an intense wave of crackdown on the opposition, including the imprisonment of Putin’s best-known critic Alexei Navalny, 45, whose organization was banned as an “extremist”.

Before the weekend vote, Navalny’s main allies arrested or fled the country, and any person associated with his group was not allowed to stand in the legislative elections.

“It’s a mock election, and it’s a sad thing,” said Andrei, a 33-year-old computer scientist who is a voter in Moscow.

Some 108 million Russians could have voted until Sunday at 6 p.m. GMT, to renew the 450 terms of deputies in the Duma, the lower house of parliament, currently dominated by United Russia. At 11:30 GMT, the turnout was over 40%, according to the Election Commission.

The independent election observer Golos received more than 3,850 complaints about possible election irregularities. AND, In addition to eliminating opposition from the ballot, these elections were also marred by reports of censorship and fraud.

In contrast, when voting began on Friday, the Apple and Google companies removed Navalny’s “smart voting” app, which informed its followers about which candidates to support to defeat the Kremlin-aligned candidates.

Sources close to Google and Apple’s decision told AFP they did so under pressure from Russian authorities, who threatened to arrest local staff at the tech giants. The Telegram messaging app also removed Navalny’s app on Friday.

On Sunday, the imprisoned opponent once again asked his compatriots to vote following his slogans.

“Today, your vote really matters,” he posted on social media. “Vote and convince others to do so. Please don’t be lazy. “

David and Goliat

Leonid Volkov, an ally of Navalny, admitted on Saturday that Putin had won a “huge victory” after the tech giants “gave in to the Kremlin’s blackmail”, but urged his supporters to mobilize in this “battle between David and Goliath “.

Before the Duma elections, Putin’s United Russia party had historically low support. Recent polls by VTsIOM, a state body, found that less than 30% of Russians plan to vote for the party, 10% less than in the weeks leading up to the 2016 parliamentary elections.

Although the 68-year-old Putin continues to have a good level of popularity, United Russia has lost its support in the face of deteriorating living conditions after years of economic stagnation.

“We believe in him (Putin),” Anna Kartachova, 50, an employee of a pharmaceutical company in Moscow, told AFP on Sunday. “There is no one else on the political horizon,” he added.

The ruling party is expected to retain its two-thirds majority in the lower house, which would allow it to pass bills unopposed.

Besides United Russia, 13 other parties participate in the elections, although in general they are perceived as a false opposition in the service of the Kremlin.

With information from AFP

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