Vladimir Putin, the reigning president of Russia will once again rule the country for another six years after he emerged victorious in the presidential election on Sunday. But some CCTV videos featuring alleged ballot rigging have surfaced online, triggering suspicion that foul play was behind the election outcome.
Democracy under threat?
The clips feature voting station officials stashing voting slips in the ballot box and blocking CCTV cameras of one station with balloons. We can also see a mother superior checking the votes cast by her nuns. In another video, a man is seen filling the ballot boxed with slips, while a voting station official can be seen nearby. In another polling station, a group of wrestlers creates commotion in the polling station, and in the meantime, a man stuffs ballot boxes with papers.
The act of the voting station officials has created many questions, as these officials are supposed to work in such a way that vote tampering can be stopped, thus guaranteeing the integrity of the election.
However, Ella Pamfilova, head of the Central Electoral Commission said that there were no serious violations during the presidential election. "We have analyzed and monitored everything we could, everything that has arrived. Thank goodness, it's all rather modest so far," she told a commission meeting, BBC reports.
Undaunted, Putin continues his journey
Putin's presidential win was expected, and he won the contest by grabbing 76 percent of the vote share. Alexy Navalny, the main opposition leader was barred from the race. Millionaire communist Pavel Grudinin, Putin's nearest competitor grabbed 12 percent votes in the contest.
Another six-year term as the president will take Putin to nearly a quarter century in power among Kremlin leaders second only to the legendary Joseph Stalin. After the win, Vladimir Putin addressed a large crowd in Moscow and said that voters have recognized the achievements of the last few years.
