Russians prepared Saturday for parliamentary elections amid dwindling support for the ruling United Russia party and unprecedented pressure on election observers. Voting in the world’s largest country will begin at 2000 GMT Saturday in the Russian Far East regions and end 21 hours later when polling stations close at 1700 GMT Sunday in the exclave of Kaliningrad wedged between Poland and Lithuania. Police were on high alert ahead of the polls and the expected subsequent protests, with Moscow parking lots cleared out around polling stations and over 50,000 officers mobilised to ensure order through the weekend.
President Dmitry Medvedev heads the party list for United Russia, and opinion polls have shown that while it is still almost certain to retain its parliamentary majority, its support may be eroding after years of dominance. In a message to the Russian people Friday, Medvedev called elections “one of the highest manifestations of democracy.” But 46 percent of Russians expect the vote to be rigged, according to a Levada opinion poll held in November, with 51 percent convinced that the elections are only an “imitation competition” with predetermined results.
The run-up to the polls has also been marked by unprecedented pressure on election observers, especially on Moscow-based group Golos, which has set up a user-friendly website where people may allege violations. Meanwhile, the head of an independent Russian election watchdog was detained for 12 hours at a Moscow airport on Saturday as part of attempts to stop it monitoring Sunday’s vote for a new parliament, the group’s lawyer said.
