Russian Mass Media: Russia`s CEC Chairman Admitted Ballot-rigging in Early Voting in Belarus :: Charter'97 :: News

The draft law “On Amendments to Federal laws “On basic guarantees of election rights and a right for participation in referendum for the citizens of the Russian Federation” and the “Code of civil procedure of the Russian Federation” requires a serious analysis, believes the Chairman of the Russian Central Election Committee Alexander Veshnyakov. He told about that on Wednesday, August 30, at a briefing for journalists. The chairman of the CEC spoke against “expanding reasons and grounds for registration denial to the size of the Universe”. Besides, as KMNews informs, the CEC chairman said that the authors of the draft law offer to “use early voting again, which in the conditions of our country with its 37 per cent of people working for the state or for municipalities, opens endless possibilities for administrative resources to drive people to polling stations to take part in early voting, and for rigging results, as the polling boxes would stay almost unattended for four nights, and it would be possible to throw anything at all into them”. That is how it has been happening in Belarus, Veshnyakov underlined.

The draft law has been approved on the initiative of the “Edinaya Rossiya” in the first reading on July 8 after a discussion on early voting issues and a possibility to withdraw candidate’s registration for incomplete information.

Before the voting A. Veshnyakov was given a chance to speak, and he said, addressing the authors of the draft law: “you are introducing the notion of extremist activities without explaining this notion. Any one who criticizes the authorities could be eliminated on those grounds. In addition, a person who is not allowed to be nominated as an extremist, is disqualified indefinitely. There is nothing like it in any developed country. The law reads: until a clearing of a criminal record, but it is unknown when the criminal record would be cancelled”.

Besides, Veshnyakov said that according to the law, every party is to warn the election commission beforehand about the order of nomination of candidates and about the congresses for their nomination, with due advance. It is not stipulated in the law, what “with due advance” means. He believes that because of this trifle any candidate and any party could be eliminated.

A.Veshnyakov underlined that a new norm on paying for production of signature sheets before collection of signatures, makes the time for collection signatures even more short, considering the time needed for bank operations. It is beneficial for parliament parties that are registered without collection of signatures, and reduces political competitiveness.

Veshnyakov does not agree to norms of the law on improper documents, incomplete and incorrect data, the right of a prosecutor to bring up an issue of non-registration or refusal of registration, or elimination of a candidate’s registration; on the right of elections commissions to withdraw candidates and deny registration to them on other reasons. Veshnyakov believes that prosecutors have nothing to do in elections process, and believes this to be a “full backsliding to the past”.

Full text of the press conference of Russian CEC chairman A. Veshnyakov