RUSSIA: OSCE OBSERVERS SAY DUMA ELECTION RESULTS ARE "OVERWHELMINGLY DISTORTED" AS PRESIDENT PUTIN'S PARTY WINS MAJORITY
Record ID:
646696
RUSSIA: OSCE OBSERVERS SAY DUMA ELECTION RESULTS ARE "OVERWHELMINGLY DISTORTED" AS PRESIDENT PUTIN'S PARTY WINS MAJORITY
- Title: RUSSIA: OSCE OBSERVERS SAY DUMA ELECTION RESULTS ARE "OVERWHELMINGLY DISTORTED" AS PRESIDENT PUTIN'S PARTY WINS MAJORITY
- Date: 8th December 2003
- Summary: (U4) MOSCOW, RUSSIA (DECEMBER 8, 2003) (REUTERS) 1. WIDE OF HALL/ HEAD OF RUSSIA'S CENTRAL ELECTION COMMISSION ALEXANDER VESHNYAKOV ANNOUNCING LATEST ELECTION RESULTS TALLY (2 SHOTS) 0.16 2. GRAPHIC WITH PERCENTAGES OF VOTES GAINED BY MAIN PARTIES 0.19 3. WIDE OF HALL WITH LEADERS OF MAIN PARTIES ON SCREEN 0.23 4. GRAPHIC WITH MORE PERCENTAGES OF VOTES 0.29 5. WIDE OF HALL; CU SCREEN WITH RESULTS OF POLLS (2 SHOTS) 0.38 (W5) MOSCOW, RUSSIA (DECEMBER 8, 2003) (REUTERS) 6. OSCE OBSERVERS AT NEWS CONFERENCE 0.45 7. (SOUNDBITE) (English) BRUCE GEORGE, PRESIDENT OF THE PARLIAMENTARY ASSEMBLY SAYING: "Whilst the Duma elections were, in our view, professionally organized and took place in a generally calm manner. Nevertheless these elections failed to meet the OSCE commitments and commitments of the Council of Europe and failed to meet other international standards for genuine democratic elections." 1.17 8. REPORTERS AT PRESS CONFERENCE 1.23 9. (SOUNDBITE) (English) BRUCE GEORGE, PRESIDENT OF THE PARLIAMENTARY ASSEMBLY SAYING: "In these elections, the enormous advantages of incumbency and access to state equipment, resources and buildings, led the election results being overwhelmingly distorted and thereby this became one of the dominant issues of this campaign." 1.48 10. WIDE VIEW OF KREMLIN 1.55 11. FLAGS ON TOP OF BUILDING 1.59 12. WINDOWS OF THE GRAND KREMLIN PALACE 2.03 (U4) MOSCOW, RUSSIA (DECEMBER 8, 2003) (RUSSIAN POOL -- ACCESS ALL) 13. SV/SLV: RUSSIAN PRESIDENT VLADIMIR PUTIN ENTERING MEETING MEETING/ ALL SITTING DOWN (2 SHOTS) 2.09 14. MEDIA 2.12 15. (SOUNDBITE) (Russian) VLADIMIR PUTIN SAYING" The main conclusion that we need to draw from these elections despite the results of other parties and the results according to which the new Duma will be formed, the main conclusion is that the election is another step in strengthening democracy in the Russian Federation." 2.44 16. WIDE OF MEETING 2.50 (U4) MOSCOW, RUSSIA (DECEMBER 8, 2003) (REUTERS) 17. TRADING FLOOR AT RUSSIA'S ALFA BANK; VARIOUS OF TRADERS AT WORK; TRADERS TALKING ON TELEPHONE (4 SHOTS) 3.11 18. STREETS OF MOSCOW; PEOPLE GETTING ON BUS; WALKING IN SNOW (3 SHOTS) 3.37 Initials Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved
- Embargoed: 23rd December 2003 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: MOSCOW, RUSSIA
- Country: Russia
- Reuters ID: LVAHCKM1U2KH3TW4A2SG2RJA380
- Story Text: Western observers say Russian parliament poll is
"overwhelmingly distorted," as Putin party wins majority.
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday (December
8) hailed an election that stacked the parliament with his
allies as a step forward for democracy but Western
observers criticised the poll as "overwhelmingly
distorted."
The fourth such election since the Soviet Union's
collapse crushed Putin's Communist and liberal opponents --
prompting warnings of a return to authoritarian rule -- and
effectively guaranteed him a second term in next spring's
presidential poll.
It could also give him enough votes to change the
constitution so he can run for a third term.
Putin's supporters say the pro-Kremlin majority will
hand the ex-KGB spy more powers to push economic reform and
fight corruption. Critics fear the death of democracy after
a strong nationalist showing that all but wiped out liberal
parties.
"The election is another step in strengthening democracy in
the Russian Federation," Putin told senior officials.
But the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in
Europe (OSCE), a human rights and democracy watchdog, said
the vote was skewed by use of state resources to promote
United Russia, Putin's party.
"In this election the enormous advantage of incumbency
and access to state equipment, resources and buildings led
to the election result being overwhelmingly distorted,"
said Bruce George, president of the OSCE's parliamentary
assembly.
Critics said campaigning was a throw-back to Soviet days.
The leader of the Communist Party, facing a second
death after its rebirth in the chaos of the 1990s, called
the election a farce and accused the Kremlin of rigging the
vote.
Created by the Kremlin for the last election in 1999 to
help Putin's rise to power, United Russia won 37.1 percent
of the vote, the central election commission said. Its main
slogan was "Together with the President."
The communists -- Putin's main opposition -- had only
12.7 percent, well down from the 24 percent they won in
1999.
Ultra-nationalist Vladimir Zhirinovsky's party, which
backs the Kremlin on key issues, won 11.6 percent and
Motherland, seen by many as a Kremlin creation to draw off
votes from the communists, had 9.1 percent.
That means the pro-Kremlin bloc could get the
two-thirds majority needed to change the constitution to
allow Putin a third four-year term -- although he ruled
that out in June.
The vote reflected widespread support for Putin's
efforts to restore central control since succeeding Boris
Yeltsin in 2000 and ending the chaos of the early reform
years.
Russian stocks opened down on concerns about liberal
parties' poor showing, which could push key reformists off
powerful parliament committees, but recovered later in the
day.
Markets are still jittery over a Kremlin-led attack on
Russia's richest businessman, former YUKOS chief Mikhail
Khodorkovsky, which they fear could herald a bid by
hardliners in Putin's circle to put the economy under more
state control.
Khodorkovsky was arrested in October on charges of tax
evasion and fraud, raising fears that the Kremlin might
review results of the 1990s privatisation of state
industries.
In an otherwise drab election campaign, there has been
no mention of rebel Chechnya despite almost daily
bloodshed. On Sunday, gunmen shot dead an election
commission official there and four Russian soldiers were
killed in a rebel ambush.
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