Kremlin planning to rig election

[Lone_Star_Dem]

Source: Guardian

The Kremlin is planning to falsify the results of this Sunday's presidential election in Russia by compelling millions of public sector workers to vote and by fraudulently boosting the official turnout after polls close, the Guardian has learned.

Governors, regional officials, and even headteachers have been instructed to deliver a landslide majority for Dmitry Medvedev - Russia's first deputy prime minister, whom President Vladimir Putin has endorsed to be his successor.

Officials have been told they need to secure a 68% to 70% turnout in this weekend's poll - with around 72% casting votes for Medvedev. However, independent analysts believe the real turnout will be much lower - with between 25% and 50% of the electorate taking part.

The Kremlin is planning to bridge the gap by the use of widespread fraud, diplomats and other independent sources have told the Guardian. Local election officials are preparing to stuff ballot boxes once the polls have closed with unused ballots, they believe, with regional officials also giving inflated tallies to Russia's central election commission.

Read more: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/feb/29/russia2?gusrc=rss&feed=networkfront

[no_hypocrisy]

1. Friggin' Diebold has no patriotic allegiance to this country . . . .

[mikelgb]

2. imitation is flattery

[LostinVA]

3. Honestly, does anyone expect any different from ex-KGB Putin?

[acmavm]

4. Nope. And I bet bush** is just freakin' jealous as hell.

[The Croquist]

19. Knock me over with a feather!

I can't believe that Russia might rig an election!

[kentauros]

5. What happens if they don't do as "instructed"?

I've been wondering lately if we should just get the UN to monitor the elections in ALL countries (at least those that are members, anyway.) I like to think they could do a better job at running them than we (or Russia) seem to be able to...

[ArfDogMNO]

18. Good luck getting any major country to give the UN control of anything

You think things are bad now???

[panzerfaust]

6. Jus' doing what he learned from his Soul Mate

Only he is more open and honest about it - as such elections have a long history in Russia (and the USSR).

I do not recall what percent of the electorate turned out for Uncle Joe's elections - well over 90% I am sure.

[awoke_in_2003]

7. To quote Joe

"It is enough that the people know there was an election. The people who cast the votes decide nothing. The people who count the votes decide everything"

[fascisthunter]

8. Where is the "Dictator" Crowd????

[otherlander]

9. Everyone already agrees that Putin's a dictator.

There's nothing to argue about.

[fascisthunter]

10. Funny, because they don't argue

[otherlander]

17. ?

Just saying... people here only like to talk about things they can fight about. When everybody agrees on something, the subject just gets ignored.

[fascisthunter]

20. I Know What You Mean

[tomg]

11. And that is why American is the best.

The Russians need 72% to stage a fake election. We can fake it with 50.1% Our illusion of democracy so crushes theirs.

[fshrink]

12. What I always find funny

and meaningful is the percentage. The extent of the forgery. Stalin and the next few wanted 99.5%. They knew it was unrealistic but needed to promote a myth. The current, half-ass 72% is hilarious! They could easily engineer, just like here, a good, solid 52%. But, no,they can't help it!

[tomg]

13. In a way, though, it really

does suggest that fake democracy is on the march. Under the Soviets it was 99%. Now, it is only 72%. Someday the Russian people will truly be fake free and like us have close meaningless elections. It takes time to develop a fake democracy, and I don't think we should criticize their fake aspirations and their fake desire to live in a fake free world.

[rockymountaindem]

21. They can't allow it to exceed the number that the United Russia party got in the Duma election

Because the UR party is supposedly going to forward Putin to be the new Prime Minister, if Medvedev got a higher percentage than UR (read "Putin"), it would indicated that Medvedev has more popular support than the outgoing President.

...And that would significantly complicate Putin's probably attempt to manipulate Medvedev well into the future.

[MasonJar]

14. Has Karl arrived yet?

[Posteritatis]

16. Compared to some of the guys over there, Rove's an amateur. (nt)

[David__77]

15. Putin would win a free or unfree election in Russia.

Putin is popular in Russia. Without a doubt, the majority would be glad to vote for him. This is something that probably hasn't occurred here with the same level of depth since FDR. I don't agree with Putin's political positions, but he had been immensely better than Yeltsin, who was a true criminal in destroying Russia. Finally, Russia's living standards are remotely approaching those of more than 20 years ago.

[ArfDogMNO]

22. It really is quite amazing

Putin is the archetype of an authoritarian dictator, has functionally subverted the political system to give him control of it, has (circumstantial) either had killed or passively allowed the murder of a whole list of his public critics, and is, as you say, quite popular.

I would assume the dysfunctional chaos in the post-soviet era, the open looting of state resources by various connected parties, and serious economic issues convinced many that the old ways weren't so bad, maybe. Opposition figures still get to go to psychiatric protection places (asylums, this appears to be a Soviet tradition), open critics are killed in broad daylight, but do the trains run on time? I assume they do.

On the other hand, from a realpolitik perspective, is a strong, authoritarian russia in US interests, compared to the alternative?

I am not sure that it isn't. There are likely to be much stronger safeguards on nuclear materials (how many nukes/parts were sold off in the 90's?), the great chess game of who gets a favorable government in the various former SSR's continues (I think the so-called orange revolution pissed Moscow off to no end), Russia may eventually provide some counterbalance to China's rise as they will have resource-and influence conflicts that might overwhelm their anti-US geopolitical posture, and, finally, Putin understand the concept of MAD. His alleged views after his trip to Tehran were interesting, to say the least.