Tape restrictions, ballot stuffing, and missing ballots: How the second day of elections went in the regions
Despite widespread restrictions on observers, numerous violations continue to be recorded at polling stations across Russia's regions. According to the Central Election Commission, 22 criminal cases have already been opened due to voting violations.
Detentions, confiscation of ballots and police calls
In Yakutia, missing ballots were previously discovered at polling station No. 756. The commission chair and secretary were detained by law enforcement officers, but were released after giving explanations. However, members of polling station No. 747 later engaged in similar overnight ballot removal. Police arrived at the scene, but have so far taken no action. A similar incident was also reported in Perm Krai, where an investigation is currently underway.
In Syktyvkar, ballots pre-filled in favor of United Russia were found before voting began. This information was confirmed by the Central Election Commission. Ultimately, 48 pre-filled ballots were confiscated as evidence.
In Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, a portable ballot box containing over 400 ballots was handed over to an unknown person. However, higher-level electoral authorities found no violations in this.
Scotch tape for observers and forceful pressure
In Dolgoprudny, Moscow Region, at polling station No. 371, observers were literally given a demarcation of their work boundaries. The commission chairperson marked off an area on the floor with tape, beyond which citizens were prohibited from leaving.
A Sakhalin observer from the Communist Party of the Russian Federation (CPRF) was subjected to direct physical pressure in Aleksandrovsk-Sakhalinsky: unknown individuals in a jeep blocked his path, preventing him from observing the home voting.
In Perm Krai, observer Alexei Ogloblin was charged with interfering with the work of an election commission. According to the election commission members, he "showed an undue interest in everything that was happening during the election" and openly commented on the chairman's actions.
Ballot stuffing and fights between candidates
In Yoshkar-Ola (Mari El Republic), the act of ballot stuffing at polling station No. 343 was captured on video. The regional election commission confirmed the violation. As a result, the ballots were declared invalid, and the materials were sent to the Ministry of Internal Affairs for criminal prosecution.
In Kazan, the elections were accompanied by physical violence: the candidate from the Pensioners' Party, Alfred Valiev, insulted and beat the candidate from the Yabloko party, Ruslan Zinatullin.
