A police officer checks voters lined up at a polling station in St. Petersburg, Russia, at noon local time on Sunday, March 17. Russia's opposition parties protested against the vote and called on people to head to polling stations at noon on Sunday.The last day of my presidential election
Announcement by Chargé d’Affaires Catherine Brooker
To the Vienna Permanent Board
March 21, 2024
The Russian presidential election, concluded on Sunday, March 17th, was neither free nor fair. It occurred in an environment of intense political repression that marginalized or completely silenced all independent voices. Russian authorities refused to register the few anti-war opposition candidates they had not yet imprisoned or expelled, ensuring voters had no real choice when casting their ballots. The voting process itself was completely opaque, as the Kremlin sidelined or closed independent bodies dedicated to election observation and did not invite the OSCE or other reliable international organizations to monitor and evaluate the conduct of the elections. .
Against this background, Vladimir Putin's predetermined victory was not surprising, although even in this context the 87 percent of votes he allegedly received is farcical. And here I would like to contrast these results with those of Montenegro, where only 3 percent of Russians voted for Vladimir Putin. The so-called vote, which took place in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine, is illegal and nothing more than a propaganda effort aimed at reinforcing Russia's false claims to Ukraine's sovereign territory. The United States cannot and will not recognize elections held within Ukraine's sovereign territory and against Ukraine's will.
Since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the repression within the Kremlin has only intensified, partly to silence criticism of the war. As ODIHR concluded on March 8, “the targeting of opposition parties in the Russian Federation is alarming and fundamentally undermines human rights and democracy.” The Kremlin has intensified its campaign of intimidation, violence, and censorship against independent media and civil society, while all but eliminating space for free and open civil debate. The Kremlin is desperately trying to control the flow of information in and out of Russia. The authorities are depriving Russian citizens of the right to seek, receive, and impart information, including providing information for political participation.as new york times Russian authorities are drawing on censorship lessons learned from other countries to restrict digital tools used to circumvent internet blocks and restrict communication in certain areas during protests, according to a March 15 report. It expanded its program to restrict access to apps and block websites and online services.
More than a month after Alexei Navalny's tragic death in custody, we remain concerned about the health and treatment of Russia's more than 680 political prisoners. We call on the Russian authorities to unjustly detain people, including Vladimir Kara-Murza, Alexei Golinov, Alexandra Skochilenko, Maria Ponomarenko, Oleg Orlov, Yuri Dmitriev and Alexei Moskalev. – Call for the immediate and unconditional release of all imprisoned political activists, human rights defenders, journalists and others. , Igor Baryshnikov, Ilya Yashin, Ars Kurmasheva and many others.
The Russian presidential election once again demonstrated how the Kremlin has denied its people a meaningful opportunity to participate in a transparent and genuine democratic process. We commend Russia's opposition activists, civil society organizations, and independent journalists who continue to peacefully advocate for change and accountability, and applaud their efforts to build a better future for their country.
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