Russia

Senior Russian Lawmaker Says West's Plans Failed as New Russian Regions Held Local Votes

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Russian parliamentary speaker Vyacheslav Volodin said on Sunday that Washington and Brussels failed to disrupt local elections in the four recently-converted Russian regions, adding that the high voter turnout speaks to the residents' desire to have a say in the future of their regions.
Sputnik
"Washington and Brussels did everything to prevent these elections from taking place: provocations, intimidation and shelling by the Kiev regime. But their plans have failed. Voter safety was ensured and the voting was transparent, fair and competitive," Volodin wrote on his Telegram channel.
The senior lawmaker noted that the Donetsk and Lugansk peoples' republics as well as the Zaporozhye and Kherson regions held their first local elections under Russian law, which once again demonstrated their willingness "to live in one country and advance together."
"The high turnout showed the desire of residents of the Donetsk and Lugansk people's republics, Zaporozhye and Kherson regions to have an impact on the future development of their region [and] our country — Russia," Volodin said.
On Sunday, Russian Central Election Commission (CEC) chief Ella Pamfilova added that over 30,000 cyberattacks were launched against Russia's online voting services since the start of elections on September 8.
“There is, after all, a lot of interest in the elections [in Russia], our services withstood over 30,000 attacks over these days ... The margin of safety is large. We look to the future with optimism and confidence,” Pamfilova said in the CEC information center.
She added that the voting system in Russia is open and transparent to the point when “any little thing immediately surfaces,” making it impossible to hide anything in the election process.
Elections were held in most regions of Russia from September 8-10. The voting is designed to elect top officials in 21 subjects of the country and members of the State Duma, the lower house of the Russian parliament, for four vacant places in single-member constituencies. The elections also took place in the Donetsk and Lugansk people's republics, as well as in the Zaporozhye and Kherson regions.
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