Observers slam 'slanted' Russian election

European election observers today criticised Russia’s presidential vote, saying that slanted coverage in the state-run media made for a one-sided campaign that fell short of democratic standards.

The campaign and balloting “overall did not adequately reflect principles necessary for a positive democratic election process”, said Julian Peel Yates, head of a joint mission from the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe and the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.

Yates said that international democratic standards including “vibrant political discourse and meaningful pluralism were lacking”.

Russian authorities “failed to meet important commitments regarding treatment by the state-controlled media on a non-discriminatory basis and the principles of a secret ballot”, he said.

Vladimir Putin easily won a second four-year term in Sunday’s election, capturing more than 70% of the vote to defeat his five challengers.

During the campaign, Putin’s opposition challengers complained that state-controlled media’s lavish coverage of the incumbent gave them little opportunity to get their message to voters.

They also claimed that regional government officials, apparently eager to curry favour with the Kremlin, hampered their campaign appearances.

Yates said that some parts of the official campaign to get out the vote could have been construed as support for the incumbent.

The OSCE deployed 340 observers from 39 nations to monitor the vote.