Russia needs “fundamental’ changes in the laws governing its electoral system, a senior official from Prime Minister Vladimir Putin’s United Russia party said on Thursday.
“We must move ahead,” said head of the party’s executive committee, Andrei Vorobyev, at a frequently stormy “Fair Elections” roundtable in downtown Moscow.
Vorobyev, who is also a member of parliament, also said he hoped the electoral system would become “more reliable, clearer and more open” after upcoming parliamentary debates on the issue.
Widespread allegations of vote fraud in favor of United Russia at the December 4 parliamentary elections triggered the largest anti-government protests in Moscow for almost two decades. Protesters want a rerun of the polls, electoral reform and the dismissal of the country’s increasingly unpopular election chief, Vladimir Churov, among other demands.
But both Putin and outgoing President Dmitry Medvedev have ruled out fresh elections.
Vorobyev suggested giving more power to observers, the use of web cameras at polling stations and greater transparency would ensure the fairness of the March 4 presidential elections, in which Putin is expected to secure a third stint in the Kremlin.
But analysts have questioned the sincerity of United Russia’s apparent desire for electoral honesty.
“If United Russia really were sincere about their desire to see fair elections, they would give up their seats and call new parliamentary polls,” said analyst Lilia Shevtsova of the Moscow-based Carnegie Center.
“The party’s stance is to maintain a position gained through the results of falsification,” she told RIA Novosti. United Russia’s share of the vote went down sharply at last year’s polls, although it just managed to hang onto its parliamentary majority.
Also in attendance at the roundtable were the heads of Russia’s three parliamentary opposition parties – The Communist Party, the national Liberal Democratic party (LDPR) and the A Just Russia party. The three parties on Tuesday submitted a draft resolution to parliament that would introduce sweeping changes to the electoral system, including the make-up of the powerful election committee.
A Just Russia also submitted on Thursday a proposal that would see officials guilty of vote fraud jailed for up to eight years.
But veteran Communist Party head Gennady Zyuganov was doubtful web cameras would be an effective weapon in the battle against electoral fraud, saying “most falsification goes on in quiet offices.”
“Web cameras will not be needed if electoral commissions are formed in a different manner,” he told the roundtable.
The LDPR’s flamboyant leader, Vladimir Zhirinovsky, railed against what he called media bias in favor of Putin, saying that “even [Soviet leader Leonid] Brezhnev got showed less on television.”
“Right now, day and night, it’s Putin – Putin – Putin. All the television stations, all the radio stations. Do you want to turn the whole country into a lunatic asylum?” he shouted. “Everyone has already gone out of their minds over these elections!”
While December’s polls were not the first in Russia to have seen allegations of vote fraud, they have provoked an unprecedented wave of public anger.
“You know,” Shevtsova commented. “It’s like the story of the husband who came home every night for years and beat his wife – one night, she just got fed up and killed him. Her patience had run out.”
A new mass rally is planned for Moscow on February 4. So far, over 20,000 people have indicated in social networks that they will attend. The two previous rallies drew a total of 100,000 people.
A pro-Putin rally is also planned for the same day at a different downtown Moscow location. A United Russia spokesperson said the party had not organized it, although senior officials may attend.
