Election fraud allegations will erode Putin’s legitimacy
Al Jazeera
United Russia has retained supermajority in the State Duma at the price of growing public discontent with the Kremlin.
Russia held its legislative elections over three days between September 17 and 19, with the ruling United Russia party winning 324 seats in the 450-seat State Duma. Many observers have found the outcome of the vote messy and confusing and this is because it was messy and confusing by design.
The elections were marred by accusations of deception, manipulation and outright fraud, which the opposition claims allowed the Kremlin to declare victory, despite declining public support for United Russia. Indeed, this victory comes at the cost of legitimacy.
Of course, this election was in no way similar to what people call “elections” in democratic countries. Polls in Russia are hardly “free” as true opposition forces are not allowed to register parties; the ones that are permitted to do so are controlled to a varying extent by the presidential administration.
