DISINFO: CIS, SCO, Asian and African observers recognise clean elections in Russia
SUMMARY
Observer missions from the CIS, CSTO (excluding Armenia), SCO (with China presiding), as well as from the CEC, parliaments, and electoral associations of countries from the near abroad, the Middle East, Asia, and Africa, on March 18, recognised the Russian presidential election held from March 15 to 17 as "legitimate, transparent, and democratic." Attempts of external interference in the Russian elections, the absence of which Nematov claimed, were nevertheless noticed by Olga Petrashova, first deputy executive secretary of the parliamentary assembly of the Union of Russia and Belarus. According to her, the voting took place under "unprecedented pressure from the so-called collective West".
RESPONSE
Disinformation around the presidential elections held in Russia from March 15 to March 17 claiming that they were organised according to the international standards and that West attempted to interfere.
Acknowledging the impossibility of influencing the primary outcome, numerous opposition politicians emphasised the importance of going to the polling stations to express their dissent. Read more about the polling day protest called Midday against Putin.
A Council of the EU statement of 18 March 2024 stated:
"The elections took place in an ever-shrinking political space, which has resulted in an alarming increase of violations of civil and political rights, and precluded many candidates from running, including all those opposed to Russia’s illegal war of aggression, deprived Russian voters of a real choice and heavily limited their access to accurate information".
A U.S. State Department spokesperson said that such Russian reports were ‘another false narrative of the Kremlin.’ The spokesperson added: ‘The United States does not take sides in elections; our only interest is in the democratic process.’ "The elections are obviously not free nor fair given how Mr. Putin has imprisoned political opponents and prevented others from running against him," the White House's national security council spokesperson said.
These statements only reflect these countries’ assessment of the electoral process which was far from being democratic. The media in the EU, the US and G7 nations enjoy freedom of expression, so their reports cannot be regarded as interference in the electoral process.
Russia has for several years refused to properly invite OSCE observers for elections in Russia. The last time OSCE observed elections in Russia was in 2018.
Hear RT / Russia Today Chief Editor Margarita Simonyan dismissing to BBC the basic need for electoral competing.
Read similar disinformation cases claiming that Presidential elections in new regions of Russia are held without violations, that On the eve of the RF presidential elections, Americans want to “stir up” the situation in Russia, and that Russia has the right to hold elections in former Ukrainian regions.