United Russia (the conservative government) has apparently cheated in the Russian election. Despite them cheating, they go back from 64.4% to 49.5%.
I read that tens of thousands of people are going to demonstrate in major cities today, 30,000 in Mowscow alone, and that the government has sent 50,000 soldiers to ensure that the demonstrations are peaceful in Moscow. The protestors want a new, fair election. What do you think will happen?
The Communists went up from 11.5% to 19% of the votes, despite the cheating. I wonder what they would had gotten if the election was fair...
Here's an article I just read on our national news channel:
The election is a failure for Putin5
th December 2011 09:43
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and the ruling party United Russia suffered a major defeat in Sunday's parliamentary elections.
Putin had said before the election that he hoped to get 60 percent, and now it seems that the party gets just below 50 percent of the votes. The party, however, retains a slim majority in parliament.
The whole party which Vladimir Putin is heading is in decline and disintegrates quietly, says DR News Russia employee Matilde Kimer from Moscow.
United Russia is the most unpopular party, although it has received almost half of the votes.
Corruption scandals and abuse of power- Among people, the party is described as a place for thieves and bandits. It has become muddy in corruption scandals and cases of abuse of power. People are afraid to talk about the party, and you can not find anyone who will say something nice, says Matilde Mimer.
Several thousand cases of electoral fraud have been reported. There are the very traditional ones, where employers associated with Putin's party ask or force their employees to vote for United Russia.
More colorful cases have also been reported. A voter has documented on YouTube that they used invisible ink in the ballot box. He has filmed his ballot where you can see his mark disappear after 30 seconds.
- In the Republic of Chechnya in southern Russia, 97 percent of voters officially cast their vote. It is unrealistic, and furthermore, they all voted for United Russia, said Matilde Kimer.
Source:
http://www.dr.dk/Nyheder/Udland/2011/12/05/094329.htmI personally think that the Communists will eventually benefit from it. When the government has first made the people their enemy at this level, I think it will be hard for them to make a comeback.