I admit, I did not expect things to be this blatant. After all, important federal elections are just around the corner for the Kremlin, and it is very eager to prove to everyone that they will be fair. Or at least fairer than they were in 2011.
To that end, they even removed Churov, the symbol of election fraud, and appointed the "conditionally respectable" Pamfilova, whose role is to coo sweetly about legality and make anyone who wants to speak plainly about these "elections" feel awkward.
As a stress test, we decided to try taking part in the elections in Barvikha and find out what matters more to the Kremlin: preserving the myth of "elections done differently" or fear that an Anti-Corruption Foundation (ACF) staff member might become a deputy in the rural settlement where Putin, Rotenberg, and Peskov all live.
The results of the experiment showed no hesitation whatsoever. Not even the faintest blush appears on the faces of these men and women, including Central Election Commission chief Ella Pamfilova.
They simply declared eight days of early voting, and by yesterday evening they had already brought in 30 (THIRTY, for heaven's sake) percent of the eventual turnout.
And they recruited these early voters without much embarrassment either—just migrants who were registered in the district a week ago, with dozens of people listed in a single apartment.
Naturally, a scandal erupted—there is plenty of video and other evidence.
Pamfilova was forced to invite the candidates to meet with her and said a great many things. We expected that after the meeting at the Central Election Commission, United Russia would at least slow down with the early voters.
Not at all—yesterday, immediately after the meeting at the Central Election Commission, they set a new hourly record for early voters.
Early this morning, Pamfilova said in a radio interview that she acknowledges there were violations.
And today again, at 4 p.m., when the commission begins its work, there is once more a whole crowd of early voters. They have even started bringing them to a district where this had not happened before.
And the candidate who also spoke yesterday at the Central Election Commission about the violations and supported us was simply removed from the election—the party that nominated her withdrew her.
I am not even mentioning the fact that the district has been flooded with huge quantities of smear material against our candidates, clearly being distributed by the local authorities in the name of parties they control.
All the while, every one of our leaflets is examined under a microscope to make sure it contains no criticism of other candidates from United Russia, because that is now prohibited.
You already know about the criminal case against candidate Zhdanov. They are now relentlessly going after him with this smear campaign.
The experiment is over. The "elections" in Barvikha have been organized as nothing more than a chain of criminal offenses. These crimes have been orchestrated by the local and regional authorities, while the Central Election Commission and Pamfilova personally are covering them up.
All four of our candidates in the second district, where nearly 200 ballots have already been stuffed, are withdrawing from the election in protest. What is the point of taking part when election day has not even arrived yet, and already 30% of the votes have been stuffed in—and I think it will reach as much as 50%.
The "elections" in Barvikha must be annulled. The organizers of this "early voting" must be held criminally liable. The local and regional election commissions must be dissolved, and their activities must be investigated.
Central Election Commission chief Ella Pamfilova must resign if these "elections" go ahead on schedule and their results are recognized.