A parliamentary deputy with the A Just Russia party said that the authorities in St. Petersburg are preparing to falsify the presidential vote on Sunday and are willing to pay 5,000 rubles ($170) to each election official willing to participate.
“We get various signals from people on the ground” complaining of pressure from the district administrations looking to rig the vote, Oxana Dmitriyeva told RIA Novosti on Thursday.
She said the majority are school teachers, who are usually recruited to local election commissions to supervise the vote and to count the ballots.
However, Dmitriyeva refused to name any names, saying most of those who complain to the party run the risk of losing their job if they go public with the allegations. She said no complaints were lodged with police for the same reason.
Teachers are required to stuff ballots in favor of Prime Minister and presidential candidate Vladimir Putin, said Dmitriyeva, who participated in sweeping anti-Putin protests after the December parliamentary elections, carried by his United Russia party amidst allegations of fraud.
She said she expected around 10 percent of the vote to be added to Putin's results, whose competitors include his longtime ally Sergei Mironov, head of A Just Russia.
“They are told that they need to rig the ballots because the Fatherland is in danger,” Dmitriyeva said by telephone. She could not elaborate on where the money came from.
The secretary of the central election commission in St. Petersburg, Russia’s second-biggest city with a population of 4.8 million, Nina Shubina said the allegations are unfounded and likely false.
“I think it’s completely unproven and we only know of constructive cooperation with election commission members on the ground,” Shubina said by telephone.
The city administration kept silent on Thursday. Its sole spokesman authorized to comment, Andrei Kibitov, was unavailable throughout the day.
Fraud allegations were the main reason behind mass anti-governmental protests that took place in Moscow and, to a lesser extent, St. Petersburg this winter. Critics insist similar vote rigging is being prepared for Sunday, though officials, including Putin, deny this and, in turn, accuse the opposition of preparing to fake the violations to discredit Putin in case of his victory.
A student buying up absentee ballots, which are often used for vote rigging, was detained in St. Petersburg earlier this week. Officials reported opening a criminal case but did not say which candidate he was working for.
