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Russia denies entry visas to election monitors - Uh oh...
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| Krypton |
We all know the United Russia Party has already won the elections before they even started. Putin will remain in power in some way yet to be revealed. Dissent will be cracked down. No unauthorized public gatherings. I already don't trust the Russian elections or Putin.
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Full article
Shadow over election as observers withdraw
Tony Halpin in Moscow
The credibility of parliamentary elections in Russia was plunged into doubt yesterday when the main European democratic watchdog cancelled its observer mission.
In an unprecedented move, the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) abandoned attempts to monitor the election and accused the Kremlin of obstructing its mission.
“Despite repeated attempts to attain entry visas into the Russian Federation for ODIHR experts and observers, entry visas have continuously been denied,” Christian Strohal, the director of the organisation, said in a statement.
“The ODIHR therefore concludes that the authorities of the Russian Federation remain unwilling to receive ODIHR observers in a timely and co-operative manner and co-operate fully with them. It is with regret that the ODIHR recognises that it will be unable to deliver its mandate under these circumstances.” |
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| Magnetonium |
Why is there so much Russophobia out there?
Oh, geez louiz. You thought you had me there, eh? ;-) So did I, until I looked into this whole incident into more detail. Because it appeared from your article that Russia has made a very heineous crime against democracy. Until ...
First, everyone knows that Pro-Putin's United Russia will win a majority in these parliamentary elections. Poll after poll has shown this.
Secondly, ODIHR has had bad blood with Russia before. They always whine and complain about Russia and get very political, something a bit too much for an elections monitoring group - like blaming Putin for violating democratic principles for not giving them visas a month before elections, and then blatantly refusing to travel to Russia if visas would be granted to them anyway - not before they decided to pull out of Russian invitation to monitor elections. You see, it was Russia who invited them in the first place.
ODIHR demanded to allow about 1100 of its representatives, almost a month ahead of elections (asked for visas to be granted for Nov 7 date). However, the elections date is December 2. Just curious, how many acts of political destabilization do they plan to carry out in that timespan of nearly a month? What kind of elections work so they need to do between Nov 7 - Dec 1, hahah ...
Its just plain silly. If they want to monitor elections - sure, come in like a fed days before the elections, come to the polling stations, observe, check, confirm, and leave the day after the ballots were counted. We didnt invite them for a vacation - sorry!
The thing with agencies like ODIHR is that they act like king and want everyone to do things their way, or else they take a on your entire country in front of the world's media. Cause that's what they've done before, thats what they're good at. Its kinda expensive to accomodate 1100 international monitors and provide them first-class hotels and police protection, travel for a month in a country like Russia, where a murder of one international monitor will be enough to make the elections look void. ALSO, other agencies will send their monitors as well ... and those need accomodation / support and protection.
Looks like ODIHR are playing along well to the Western tune and that of disgrunted Mr. Kasyanov, a traitor now based in London and who is chanting the Berezovsky tune like all the other criminal brass that lost their jobs in Russia due to their crimes and incompetency - but the best part is that through all their years at the Kremlin, these bastards like Berezovsky and Kasyanov NEVER COMPLAINED about the lack of democracy or rights in Russia - but since they were fired and relinquished of their duties, they suddenly had a vision - to run away from Russia and become a democratic visionary, conveniently far far away, conveniently ignoring their own crimes and double standards. Amazing change, eh??? Please tell me guys, how do you think Berezovsky made his billions in early 1990s in Russia, just like most of the current Russian oligarchs? Answer: he made them raping the country of its funds and pocketing money while millions of Russians lost their jobs and life savings. Bravo!
Anyhow, mr. Kasyanov is a former Prime Minister (apparently pissed off at Putin because mR. Kasyanov was fired for being a very pathetic/disfunctional PM) and is one of the top Russians (like Berezovsky) based in London who have been calling for long time now (long before the drama has began) for boycotting and not accepting the parliamentary elections on Dec. 2 in Russia - which havent happened yet, btw. Because he knows who's gonna win, haha, and he will never accept it.
However, on the other hand, there are decent elections monitoring agencies out these who dont whine and demand 'my way or the highway' and have been given clearance to attend the parliamentary elections and do their monitoring work, a different and respectable agency like:
OSCE MPs to monitor Russian poll
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7104382.stm
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The Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) has said it will send some monitors to next month's Russian parliamentary election.
A mission of at least 40 MPs will travel to Russia, the OSCE announced.
Last week an OSCE poll monitoring body called off its mission saying Moscow had imposed "unprecedented curbs" on its 70 officials "denying them visas".
Meanwhile, former Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov has said the world should not recognise the poll.
Speaking in London, Mr Kasyanov said new rules curbing opposition parties, media restrictions and the high 7% threshold required to win seats in parliament meant that voting on 2 December could not be considered free and fair.
He accused President Vladimir Putin of taking a sharp turn away from democracy in the autumn of 2004 and introducing "the spirit of the KGB", something he said most Russians did not support.
Mr Kasyanov said he hoped the opposition could agree on a joint candidate to challenge the Kremlin's choice in the presidential election due in March.
'Handicapped'
Traditionally, an OSCE team of experts lays the groundwork for an observer mission, concentrating on the campaign in the three to four weeks before the poll takes place.
Observers are concerned by the state's control of the media
That team - from the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights - was planning to start in Russia on 7 November, but will not now take any part in the mission.
"We have a situation where we have not received one single visa," said the ODIHR's director, Christian Strohal.
But the OSCE said a group of its parliamentarians would go to Russia.
The group is due to arrive three days before the election and present its report the day afterwards.
In 2003, the OSCE sent more than 450 observers.
The vice-president of the OSCE's Parliamentary Assembly, Kimmo Kiljunen, accepted its report would not be as comprehensive.
"I don't want to say we can't do a proper job but we are handicapped" he said.
Russia bewildered
The Russian Central Electoral Commission said it was bewildered by the ODIHR's decision to scrap its observer mission last week and rejected its accusations of obstruction as "baseless".
It has instead decided to distribute the invitations not taken up by to other groups, including the Council of Europe.
After a visit to Russia earlier this month, a Council of Europe delegation said it was confident the elections would be free but expressed concern about what "appears to be almost total state control over the electronic media".
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What did Russia have to say about all this?
http://www.interfax-news.com/3/337675/news.aspx
| quote: |
Nov 20 (Interfax) - The OSCE Office for Democratic
Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR)'s decision not to send its
observers to the State Duma elections in Russia is a mistake, Russian
First Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev has said.
"This is a strange and erroneous position, which looks like it was
prepared beforehand," Medvedev said at a news briefing for foreign
journalists in Moscow.
"I would not like to suspect anyone of anything, but at first our
European partners kept silent for a while, although they has received
all explanations as to how they could obtain visas and where, and then
they traveled to the U.S. and declared a certain position," Medvedev
said.
"This might be a pure coincidence as well," Medvedev added.
"Everyone who wanted to enter Russia on behalf of that Office would
have entered it - certainly, within the framework of a quota that Russia
has set itself, because this is for each country to decide on," Medvedev
said.
He described the OSCE/ODIHR's decision as " pointless, because
nobody will benefit from this."
"This was done purely for show," he said.
"We will definitely go through this. Other observers from different
organizations, including European ones, will come here," Medvedev said.
The OSCE quota will be redistributed between other European
organizations, particularly PACE members, Medvedev said. However, Russia
is "open for cooperation and for further work" with the OSCE, he said.
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Also, to appease the demands of increasing the number of foreign election monitors, Duma has said the following:
http://www.speroforum.com/site/arti...idarticle=12304
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Konstantin Kosachyov, head of the Duma’s international affairs committee, says Russia will increase the number of invitations to monitors from the Parliamentary Assemblies of the European Council, the OSCE and CIS. Elsewhere it was reported that the OSCE may not be invited to monitor Russia's presidential poll in March unless it adopts proposals that would weaken observation missions.
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Also, on another thought hat I had after reading some opposition parties platforms in Russia - why do all those parties concentrate on going personal against Putin and just basing like 90% of their agenda on claiming that Putin is this 'n that? Why dont they talk instead about what they have for Russia, their plans and their changes they hope to bring ... oh wait - maybe its because they know they have nothing, and they know that the only way to steal some votes is by agitating Putin and his party and hoping he would make a wrong move on which they can capitalize. Very clever strategy. |
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| Magnetonium |
OK, to be a bit more supportive of your point, I do disagree with some increasing restrictions that were introduced in recent years to make it harder for smaller parties to win seats in the parliament. I strong oppose that. I think that 7% minimum of total votes barrier to get seats in the Russian Duma (Paliament) is too high of a bar to hit for a political party in Russia. Plus, the rules to register and allow a party to run in elections are pretty tough as well - a party has to collect the signatures of 250,000 people to be eligible to run for elections. And some parties, like the Bolshevik Party have been banned from participating - for no clear violations other than an opinion that the party is dangerous to Russia, an extremist party (which is probably right.
Nevertheless, there will be 11 parties participaties in the 2007 parliamentary elections on Dec. 2 in Russia. On a side note, in USA you wouldn't get 11 parties to participate in elections. Plus, in USA and in Canada, its first-past-the-post wins. So in a Canadian system, the Green Party with 8% of total vote in Ontario got 0 SEATS in recent provincial elections, because it didnt win any seats. In Russia, 8% and no seats will still give you at least 50 seats in the parliament / Duma.
http://sg.news.yahoo.com/rtrs/20071029/twl-uk-russia-politics-elections-bd5ae06.html
| quote: |
MOSCOW - Two more parties have been banned from Russia's Dec 2 parliamentary election for containing fake signatures in their lists, local media said on Sunday, a day after the Green Party was disqualified for the same reason.
Small parties have complained that the registration process was too bureaucratic ahead of a vote in which the pro-Kremlin United Russia is expected to keep its majority. President Vladimir Putin will head its list of candidates.
The Central Electoral Commission said there were too many discrepancies in the lists sent by the People's Union and the Party for Peace and Unity to let them run, Interfax said.
The People's Union pledged to take the case to the Russian Supreme Court.
On Saturday the Green party was denied the right to register for the election after the commission said the number of fake signatures in the list of 70,000 party supporters checked by the commission exceeded the permissible five percent.
Eleven parties will participate in the polls.
An Oct 24 opinion survey from independent pollster Levada Centre showed the United Russia party was backed by 68 percent of voters, up from 55 percent in September.
Putin made the surprise announcement on October 1 that he would head United Russia's national list of candidates, in a move to maintain his influence after he leaves office next year.
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| Lebezniatnikov |
It's getting harder to defend Russian democracy when it starts to look like Pakistan's.
| quote: | Kasparov Jailed After Anti-Putin Protest
MANSUR MIROVALEV | November 24, 2007 06:16 PM EST |
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MOSCOW — Russian authorities arrested former world chess champion Garry Kasparov on Saturday and sentenced him to five days in prison after he helped lead a protest against President Vladimir Putin that ended in clashes with police.
Kasparov, one of President Vladimir Putin's harshest critics, was charged with organizing an unsanctioned procession of at least 1,500 people against Putin, chanting anti-government slogans and resisting arrest, court documents said. His assistant said he was beaten during the demonstration.
At the hastily organized trial, two police testified that they had been ordered before the rally to arrest Kasparov.
"What you read is the fruit of a fantasy dictated on orders from above," Kasparov told the court.
The violence came amid an election campaign in which some opposition political groups have been sidelined by new election rules or have complained of being hobbled by official harassment.
The Kremlin has mounted a major campaign to orchestrate a crushing victory for Putin's United Russia party in Dec. 2 parliamentary elections _ perhaps to ensure that Putin can continue to rule Russia even after he steps down as president in May. The constitution prevents him from serving three consecutive terms.
The fracas also comes at a time of growing concern in the West over the state of democracy in Russia, with western critics saying freedoms have been curtailed during Putin's eight years in office. Putin accuses the West of meddling in Russian politics.
Kasparov and dozens of other demonstrators were detained after the rally which drew several thousand people.
The opposition activist was forced to the ground and beaten, his assistant Marina Litvinovich said in a telephone interview from outside the police station where Kasparov was held.
"Putin's brakes don't work," Kasparov told a reporter in the courtroom. "I didn't hear any orders from police, unless you count the strike of a police club as an order."
Protesters were surrounded by metal fences and funneled through metal detectors while hundreds of uniformed police and interior ministry troops stood by. Men in black coats who refused to identify themselves circulated through the crowd shooting video.
After the rally ended, a line of helmeted police tried to prevent a march and channel protesters back toward a nearby Metro station.
Among the dozens of demonstrators arrested was Eduard Limonov, author and leader of the National Bolshevik Party, Kasparov's closest partner in a coalition of anti-Kremlin organizations. Supporters said he was later released.
Police in other Russian cities, including Nizhny Novgorod and Samara, detained local opposition protest organizers, according to the Interfax news agency.
Kasparov's coalition, which includes radicals, democrats and Soviet-era dissidents, has drawn wide media coverage but generated little public support.
Its ranks have expanded, though, as more mainstream political parties complain that officials have excluded them from freely contesting the upcoming elections.
On Friday, the Moscow offices of Kasparov's political organization were searched by police, who seized campaign materials, and the headquarters of the opposition Union of Right Forces party was hit by vandals, the groups said.
Police in Moscow and several other cities have used force to break up several so-called Dissenters Marches in the past year, sometimes beating protesters with truncheons.
The city gave organizers a permit for Saturday's rally but forbid them to march.
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| Krypton |
Russiaphobia magnitonium?
Dissenters are being crushed, and the elections are basically already decided. That's not democracy. But hey, if that's what the Russian people want, that's what they'll get. |
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| Magnetonium |
| quote: | Originally posted by Krypton
Russiaphobia magnitonium?
Dissenters are being crushed, and the elections are basically already decided. That's not democracy. But hey, if that's what the Russian people want, that's what they'll get. |
Sigh ... I already mentioned this a million times. One more?
Kasparov is a lunatic. First of all, he tours around the country and hangs around with radical groups, I already posted some pictures on another thread of him touring with Russian Bolshevik **cough cough** Nazi **cough cough** Party (want me to show you those?). He is a radical. He organizes illegal and unsactioned marches in key populated areas around the country, cutting off traffic, disrupting business. In any country, even in Canada, you'd get your ass in jail. For his own protection against himself.
You try to march couple dozen people into your urban area and cut off traffic. And then see what happens. You'd get arrested too. 5 Days is not very harsh of a prison sentence for disturbing public peace. Happens in any democratic country. Or is jailing people for disturbing peace and disrupting traffic in unsanctioned marches (which affect many people) not democratic? That means that there are no democratic countries out there.
You see, Kasparov's actions are pissing ordinary Russians off. He uses unhappy youth and radical movements to grab media spotlight and attention by forcing police and government to try to stop his madness.
Political marches - and not just political, pretty much any marches on public property must be sanctioned. People need to be warned in advance, adequate plans and routes undertaken to make sure businesses dont lose money, people get to work on time, traffic jams dont spring up, etc. etc. Police must also be present to make sure that the march doesnt go out of control - its very easy for marchers to get angry and start looting and damaging shops - its mostly youth, you know! We've all seen this.
Kasparov needs to abide by the law, and he doesnt. How do you expect him to be a decent politician if he cant even follow basic municipal laws? He breaks laws often - he's worse than an anarchist, and finally he was jailed for 5 days (which was a big political victory for him in the West!). His continuous dumb campaigns show that he is a very incapable politician (he never was a politician, actually, just a chess player).
Compare Kasparov to other politicians in Russia. There are 12 parties running for parliament in couple weeks. None of their politicians have been jailed because they know how to organize marches properly and how to respect the peace and follow basic (municipal) laws.
Expect more often to see Kasparov behind the bars. Thats one of his skills that he possesses, along with ability to move chess pieces. |
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| Magnetonium |
List of political parties participating in the upcoming pparliamentary elections:
United Russia
Communist Party of the Russian Federation
Liberal Democratic Party of Russia (LDPR)
Fair Russia
Agrarian Party of Russia
Citizens' Force
Democratic Party of Russia
Party of Russia's Rebirth
Patriots of Russia
Russian Democratic Party "Yabloko"
ETC.
Aaagh, I found a full list - but I am not sure which 12 of those exactly will run:
http://www.cikrf.ru/eng/politparty/
12 of those parties will participate in the upcoming parliamentary elections. Fortunately for the normal citizens, Kasparov and his Nazi friends didnt manage to collect enough votes and other rules to be allowed to register. They will NOT participate in the parliamentary elections. So they instead resort to degrading tactics which result in arrests. Idiots.
How is that undemocratic? Other parties are doing fine, their leaders are not arrested - and they make up the majority of parties - 12 parties have made it, 3 didnt. So of course those parties and group of people (who are a minority of the population since they didnt even get enough resistration signatures) are showing their true colours right now. When all fails, resort to violence, right?
The 12 main parties that have met the registration requirements - they're not using cheap and pathetic excuses / tactics for not being able to win supporters. How is it illegal to ban a radical party from participating elections for a) not meeting basic requirements needed to register and b) using provocation, intimidation, and disruption/hassle of average citizens to achieve their destabilization tactics? Heck, they repeatedly showed to the public that they are a very dangerous group of people to the country that shows no respect for the municipal laws.
I was watching on Russian state television right now the campaign of LDPR leader Mr. Zhirinovsky - a great speech as he attended his rally in Perm' region. Not so authoritarian, is it?
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| venomX |
| quote: | Originally posted by Krypton
Why won't Putin let in election monitors? |
Did you even read his first post? |
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| ams.rld |
| quote: | Originally posted by venomX
Did you even read his first post? |
Because Putin want's things to go his way. |
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| Magnetonium |
| quote: | Originally posted by ams.rld
Because Putin want's things to go his way. |
He doesn't need to in this situation. He has overwhelming support of the public (see various polls) and as far as he cares he doesnt need to do anything else because any of his actions at this point could jeopardize his superior position right now. Can't get any more clear than that! :D |
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| ams.rld |
| quote: | Originally posted by Magnetonium
He doesn't need to in this situation. He has overwhelming support of the public (see various polls) and as far as he cares he doesnt need to do anything else because any of his actions at this point could jeopardize his superior position right now. Can't get any more clear than that! :D |
He has support because many Russians' just vote for him because there is no other candidate to vote for. |
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| Lebezniatnikov |
| quote: | Originally posted by ams.rld
He has support because many Russians' just vote for him because there is no other candidate to vote for. |
The polls don't give choices between two candidates:
| quote: | Do you approve or disapprove of Vladimir Putin's performance as president?
Approve/Disapprove
Jan. 2007: 86%/13%
Feb. 2007: 81%/18% |
And for a little contrast:
| quote: | GALLUP: Do you approve or disapprove of George W. Bush's performance as president?
Feb. 2007: 32%/65%
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