International Observers Say Vote Violations Marred Russian Vote

International observers say Russia’s parliamentary election was slanted in favor of the ruling United Russia party and marred by violations.

Observers from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe and the Council of Europe’s parliamentary assembly said the campaign for the election on December 4 was marked by “limited political competition and a lack of fairness.”

The observers said in a statement on December 5 that the vote count was characterized by “frequent procedural  violations and instances of apparent manipulation, including serious  indications of ballot box stuffing.”

Preliminary official results from the vote showed the United Russia party set to win the election, but with a large drop in support.

The Central Election Commission said earlier on December that, with 96 percent of the votes counted, United Russia had won 49.5 percent of the vote, enough to secure 238 seats of the 450 seats in the State Duma. The party held 315 seats in the outgoing lower house of parliament.

compiled from agency reports

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