Legitimacy of Incumbent Authorities in Russia Undermined Because of Vote-rigging
— Presidential Human Rights Council Member
Interfax - 3.13.12 - JRL 2012-48
MOSCOW. March 13 (Interfax) - A significant number of Russians consider the outcomes of the recent presidential elections illegitimate because of the authorities' formal approach toward irregularities uncovered, Yury Jibladze, a member of the presidential human rights council, said at a press conference at the Interfax main office on Tuesday.
file photo, random emblematic voter"What really matters is the impression of legitimacy in society, and, unfortunately, this impression is quite awful for a significant part of society," Jibladze said.
"The elections involved massive manipulations and violations, and therefore confidence in democratic institutions and the government that has been elected has been undermined," Jibladze said. "This is the fault of those who organized massive violations and falsifications," he said.
The people form their impression about the level of legitimacy of elections not based on the outcome of the vote counting but on how the authorities react to irregularities, he said.
"Frankly speaking, I do not believe it is possible to correctly assess the results of these elections because of a combination of violations and, what counts most, because monitors are incapable of recording and stopping them, because their complaints are not considered or considered by commissions formally at the end of the day, when nothing can change anything, and because courts do not consider such claims, and you know this," Jibladze said.
Jibladze said he was a member of a mobile group monitoring the elections as a lawyer in the Southern Administrative District of Moscow on March 4.
"Having visited more than 15 polling stations as a member of this mobile group, I saw the same massive violations that a lot of other monitors saw," he said.
Keywords: Russia, Government, Politics - Russian News - Russia
MOSCOW. March 13 (Interfax) - A significant number of Russians consider the outcomes of the recent presidential elections illegitimate because of the authorities' formal approach toward irregularities uncovered, Yury Jibladze, a member of the presidential human rights council, said at a press conference at the Interfax main office on Tuesday.
file photo, random emblematic voter"What really matters is the impression of legitimacy in society, and, unfortunately, this impression is quite awful for a significant part of society," Jibladze said.
"The elections involved massive manipulations and violations, and therefore confidence in democratic institutions and the government that has been elected has been undermined," Jibladze said. "This is the fault of those who organized massive violations and falsifications," he said.
The people form their impression about the level of legitimacy of elections not based on the outcome of the vote counting but on how the authorities react to irregularities, he said.
"Frankly speaking, I do not believe it is possible to correctly assess the results of these elections because of a combination of violations and, what counts most, because monitors are incapable of recording and stopping them, because their complaints are not considered or considered by commissions formally at the end of the day, when nothing can change anything, and because courts do not consider such claims, and you know this," Jibladze said.
Jibladze said he was a member of a mobile group monitoring the elections as a lawyer in the Southern Administrative District of Moscow on March 4.
"Having visited more than 15 polling stations as a member of this mobile group, I saw the same massive violations that a lot of other monitors saw," he said.