Freedom of Russia’s elections hotly disputed

RUSSIA’S political parties enjoy “free and equal competition” ahead of tomorrow’s parliamentary election, President Dmitry Medvedev insisted, as voters complained of record violations by the Kremlin party and the only independent election monitoring group was prosecuted.

Seven Kremlin-approved parties have been allowed to field candidates this year, while the most vocal opposition groups have been denied registration and barred from campaigning.

Medvedev made an apparent call to vote for the dominant United Russia Party and warned that a parliament made up of diverse political camps would be incapable of working for the good of the country.

“Will it be a lawmakers’ corps torn by irreconcilable conflicts, incapable of making a decision — something that has, unfortunately, happened in our history?” he asked. “Or will we get a capable legislative body dominated by responsible politicians, who can help improve our people’s living standards in practice, who will be guided in their actions by the interests of voters and national interests?”

United Russia dominates the nation’s political life and has received overwhelmingly favourable coverage during the campaign, mostly from Kremlin-controlled national television. But the party is increasingly disliked, accused of supporting a corrupt bureaucracy and often called “the party of crooks and thieves.”

Golos, a respected independent watchdog, compiles complaints of election law violations and posts them on online. It has recorded over 4,700 complaints, most involving United Russia.

But a court yesterday found the independent election monitoring group guilty of violations, casting doubt on its ability to monitor tomorrow’s parliamentary election.

The Moscow court agreed with prosecutors that Golos had illegally published opinion polls and other research. The law forbids the publication of polls within five days of an election.

Prosecutors claimed they had found indications that Golos was “abusing the freedom of the press by falsifying publicly important data, and spreading rumours under the disguise of reliable facts in an attempt to blacken the party and some of its members.”

Independent pollster Levada Center predicted United Russia would receive 53% of the vote. While still a majority, this would deprive the party of the two-thirds majority that has allowed it to amend the constitution.