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MOSCOW. March 7 (Interfax) - The Russian presidential election has discredited the institutions of state power and cannot be recognized as legitimate, the League of Voters said.

"Against the backdrop of massive irregularities, the League deems it impossible for itself to recognize the outcomes of the 2012 Russian presidential election," the League said in a memorandum circulated at a press conference at the Interfax head office on Wednesday.

"Regrettably, on March 4 Russian civil society was insulted and the institutions of the Russian presidency, the Russian electoral system and the entire Russian state power as a whole were discredited," it said.

"The League of Voters believes that the election held on March 4 was not equal because the discrimination of well-known politicians in forming the list of candidates restricted the possibility of choice for citizens and made competition easier for the candidate from the ruling power," the document said.

The League also deems the election unfair "because the registered candidates held their election campaigns in unequal conditions, and one of them had an advantage by making use of the vast state resources - financial, organizational and propagandist - in his interests against the law," the League said.

"The election was not honest because the vote count and stock-taking were accompanied by systemic falsifications which substantially distorted the result of the voters' choice," the League of Voters said.

An independent stock-taking conducted by civil observers at polling stations in accordance with the law allows to conclude "that the real number of votes mustered by Putin, whose victory was announced, is significantly below the one set for him by the Russian electoral administration in its official reports," it said.

"We have discovered multiple falsifications of primary protocols of local electoral commissions, i.e. the alteration of the election results stated therein after their copies were issued to observers but before data were entered in the Vybory state automatic system. Almost all these falsifications were carried out in favor of the same candidate," the League said.

"Thousands of eyewitness accounts have been published about irregularities during the voting process proper, the crudest and most noticeable of them being 'carousels' and ballot stuffing," the document said.

"There has been an increase by three million people in the number of voters who cast votes in special conditions: using absentee ballots, early, and outside voting premises," the document said.

Most common of all were the violations related to voting by special lists "that included staff from enterprises categorized as the continuous production cycle," the League of Voters said.

Keywords: Russia, Government, Politics - Russia News - Russia

 

MOSCOW. March 7 (Interfax) - The Russian presidential election has discredited the institutions of state power and cannot be recognized as legitimate, the League of Voters said.

"Against the backdrop of massive irregularities, the League deems it impossible for itself to recognize the outcomes of the 2012 Russian presidential election," the League said in a memorandum circulated at a press conference at the Interfax head office on Wednesday.

"Regrettably, on March 4 Russian civil society was insulted and the institutions of the Russian presidency, the Russian electoral system and the entire Russian state power as a whole were discredited," it said.

"The League of Voters believes that the election held on March 4 was not equal because the discrimination of well-known politicians in forming the list of candidates restricted the possibility of choice for citizens and made competition easier for the candidate from the ruling power," the document said.

The League also deems the election unfair "because the registered candidates held their election campaigns in unequal conditions, and one of them had an advantage by making use of the vast state resources - financial, organizational and propagandist - in his interests against the law," the League said.

"The election was not honest because the vote count and stock-taking were accompanied by systemic falsifications which substantially distorted the result of the voters' choice," the League of Voters said.

An independent stock-taking conducted by civil observers at polling stations in accordance with the law allows to conclude "that the real number of votes mustered by Putin, whose victory was announced, is significantly below the one set for him by the Russian electoral administration in its official reports," it said.

"We have discovered multiple falsifications of primary protocols of local electoral commissions, i.e. the alteration of the election results stated therein after their copies were issued to observers but before data were entered in the Vybory state automatic system. Almost all these falsifications were carried out in favor of the same candidate," the League said.

"Thousands of eyewitness accounts have been published about irregularities during the voting process proper, the crudest and most noticeable of them being 'carousels' and ballot stuffing," the document said.

"There has been an increase by three million people in the number of voters who cast votes in special conditions: using absentee ballots, early, and outside voting premises," the document said.

Most common of all were the violations related to voting by special lists "that included staff from enterprises categorized as the continuous production cycle," the League of Voters said.