In Russia, the main day of voting in regional elections is underway

In more than 80 regions of Russia, where elections of various levels are organized this month, September 10 is a single voting day. In a number of subjects, where voting is multi-day and continues from Friday, Sunday will be the final day.

In total, as noted by “Interfax”, we are talking about more than 4,000 election campaigns. Apparently, the figure is given taking into account the voting that the Russian authorities are conducting these days in the occupied territories of Ukraine – in the Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporozhye and Kherson regions. In the so-called “LNR”, according to the data of the pro-Russian election committee, the turnout at 10 a.m. Sunday, Moscow time, was approximately 65%. Earlier, there were reports that election committee employees were visiting houses, sometimes accompanied by Russian military personnel.

The authorities of Ukraine condemned the voting. In a statement, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the country emphasized that Kyiv “calls on international partners to condemn Russia’s insignificant and arbitrary actions and not to recognize the legitimacy of any “administration” that will be created as a result of illegal elections, as well as any decisions they will make.”

The head of the Russian CEC, Ella Pamfilova, said on Sunday morning that “in general, not so much” was reported about possible violations in the elections. In total, according to her, a little more than 280 such appeals have been received, of which 104 were related to the shortcomings of voting in the elections in Moscow, the rest – related to issues of campaigning, informing about the place of voting, equipment of polling stations, protection of the rights of observers. They had a singular character, the head of the CEC claims.

The Radio Liberty Sever.Realii project broadcasts live the main, third day of voting in the Russian elections. The publication includes reports of violations at sites in different regions.

In particular, as Sever.Realii writes, employees of budget organizations and their relatives are forced to vote in the Khabarovsk mayor’s election. Voters are required to take photos of ballots with a checkmark. A source in one of the sports institutions of the city told about this telegram channel “Khabarovsk”. In the Novosibirsk region, the press service of the regional committee of the CPRF received an audio recording, from which it follows that the local administration will present a passenger gazelle to the first three village councils of the Novosibirsk region, which will show the highest turnout in the elections.

In the Amur Region, the Committee of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation reported on a case of throwing ballots in the Ivanovo Municipal District. A member of the regional election commission, Kirill Tandurov, found a bundle of ballots in the ballot box at precinct 717 in the village of Srednebelaya. Party representatives filed a complaint with the police and a complaint with the territorial commission. Residents of the Ingodinsky district of Chita reported that they received calls with an offer to vote for a specific candidate (his name is not specified). The police received a statement about the violation, Chita.ru notes.

In particular, the Telegram channel “Govorit NeMoskva” writes about election violations, mentioning cases of observers’ detention. Thus, Valentina Shostak, an observer from the CPRF, was detained in Gelendzhik, accused of interfering in the work of the election committee. In Omsk, the police forcibly took Ivan Felin, an ex-deputy from the CPRF, who was trying to draw attention to illegal campaigning for the acting head of the region, from the precinct.