Russian poll 'not free and fair'

2007-12-03 15:19

Moscow - President Vladimir Putin on Monday hailed his party's landslide election victory and brushed off opposition charges of fraud that were echoed by foreign observers and European governments.

"The legitimacy of the Russian parliament has without a doubt been increased," Putin told reporters after visiting a space research centre in Moscow.

With 98% of ballots counted from Sunday's election, Putin's United Russia party had secured 64.1% of the vote, giving it more than two thirds of seats in parliament - a majority sufficient to change the constitution.

"It is clear that Russians will never let their country go down the destructive path of certain countries in the former Soviet space," Putin said, referring to pro-Western popular revolts in Georgia, Kyrgyzstan and Ukraine.

Elections not free and fair

Outside Russia, the judgement was less favourable.

Germany said there was "no doubt" that the elections were not free and fair, while Britain expressed concern over alleged violations documented by Western observers and Russian poll monitors.

Goran Lennmarker, the head of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), said the vote had fallen short of international standards.

"These elections failed to meet many of the commitments and standards we have in the OSCE and Council of Europe," Lennmarker told reporters in Moscow.

Voting took place without the scrutiny of the OSCE's main monitoring team which cancelled its mission last month, citing a lack of Russian cooperation, an accusation rejected by Moscow.

Russia's Central Elections Commission (CEC) rejected the call, accusing the observers of bias and saying their assessment was "a political order" commissioned by the United States.

- AFP