MOSCOW, April 17 (RIA Novosti) - Russia’s Central Election Commission (CEC) said violations during the March 4 mayor elections in the southern Russian city of Astrakhan were “procedural” and could not affect the results of the vote.
A Just Russia party member Oleg Shein, who lost to the United Russia candidate in Astrakhan mayor elections, examined video footage from webcams on polling stations in Astrakhan overnight, along with Russian election chief Vladimir Churov and A Just Russia party leader Sergei Mironov.
“Taking into account the results of the video examination, Russia’s Central Election Commission considers it necessary to reiterate its position. Thanks to a full, uninterrupted video record everyone can make sure that procedural violations, committed at a number of polling stations in Astrakhan could not affect the results of the vote,” the Central Election Commission said in a statement.
“The district electoral commissions had the opportunity… to establish the results of the vote accurately,” the statement says.
CEC said the footage examination will continue, but proposed to end it by the end of the week.
The commission also denied media reports that a team of doctors was called in to help Shein, who has been on hunger strike since March 16 and felt unwell while viewing the footage.
“A team of doctors was invited to the CEC office in advance, before the footage viewing began, and stayed there in an adjacent room as long as Shein remained in the commission’s building (from 20:00 [on Monday] to 6:00 Tuesday),” the statement says, adding that Shein received only “preventive” treatment.
