Never mind the ballots
Putin heading for landslide victory amid claims of rigged presidential election
VLADIMIR Putin was last night on course for a landslide victory in a Russian presidential election marred by allegations of rigged ballots and voter coercion.
An exit poll suggested he had won 75% of the vote, securing the former KGB officer a further six-year term that would take him to nearly 25 years in power – second only to Stalin for time spent in the Kremlin.
But critics described the poll, in which Mr Putin is likely to win ten times as many votes as his nearest rival, as a farce.
The Russian president has enjoyed wall-to-wall positive coverage on state-run TV channels and in pro-Putin newspapers. His main potential challenger was barred from the contest.
Yesterday there were reports of unprecedented pressure from state officials to force the public out to vote, drive up turnout and give the 65-year-old incumbent a convincing mandate.
Footage also emerged of apparent ballot box stuffing by supposedly impartial election officials. CCTV cameras in several polling stations across the country showed staff filling in and casting large stashes of ballots.
In one polling station an observer was reportedly assaulted by an official. Cameras at other stations were obscured by flags or nets and there was a surge in last-minute voter registration changes designed to boost turnout.
One voter called Yevgeny, a 43year-old mechanic who works for the Moscow city government, said he considered whether it was worth voting but did so because of pressure from his bosses.
‘But the answer was easy … if I want to keep working, I vote,’ he said. He said his employers have not asked for proof of voting but he fears they will.
In Moscow, first-time voters were being given free tickets for concerts. Health authorities were offering free cancer screenings at some polling stations. Casting his ballot in Moscow, Mr Putin said he would consider any percentage of votes a success, adding: ‘The programme I propose for the country is the right one.’