On November 24, 2009, the Perovo District Court of Moscow examined
the claim submitted by the YABLOKO party on abrogation of
the results of elections to the deputies of the Moscow City
Duma at electoral districts No 887
and 888.
According to the official results, the progovernmental United
Russia party obtained 1,002 votes more at these districts
than it was indicated in the signed
copies of the protocols given to the observers at these
polling stations.
The territorial electoral commission Veshnyaki submitted
to the court its opinion on YABLOKO’s suit. In particular
V.Stepanova, the Chair of the said territorial commission,
stated that the protocols given to the observers can not serve
written evidence, as they had been filed with violation of
the rules (the date and time of signing were missing).
However, YABLOKO’s lawyers noted that the liability for violation
of the rules of filing protocols lies on the official who
signs the protocol.
In addition the territorial commission complained that YABLOKO’s
and LDPR’s observers “created psychologically unbearable atmosphere”
at the polling station on the election day -October 11, 2009.
The observers allegedly “voiced threats and factitious accusations”,
which “by the moment of drawing of the results caused a great
number of errors on behalf of the chairs and secretaries [of
the commission]”, runs the opinion of the commission.
Ms Stepanova also dwelled on these errors. According to Stepanova,
the observes were by mistake given a wrong copy of a “training
protocol” printed out of the “training file”. However, she
could not answer why the figures in these “training protocols”
largely coincided with the official results from the GAS-Vibiri
electronic system. Also she failed to explain why the commission
chair and all its members nevertheless signed the “wrong”
protocol and even stamped it, as well as how the “training
protocol” had failed to contain a normal inscription ‘specimen’
or an imitation stamp ‘a sample polling station’.
It should be also noted that Article 72 of the Election Code
of Moscow strictly regulates the procedure of counting of
the votes. Any usage of “training” files or “training” protocols
is completely ruled out at this stage. According to YABLOKO’s
lawyers, this reason only, in accordance with Article 88 of
the Election Code, provides grounds for abrogation of the
results of the voting at these polling stations.
YABLOKO’s lawyers also found out a number of discrepancies
between the protocols submitted by the territorial electoral
commission and the official data. In particular, the protocols
submitted by the commission, according to the date on the
protocols, were filed much earlier than the so-called “training”
protocols.
When YABLOKO’s side asked why all the observers had the copies
of the “training” protocol, and none of them was given a copy
of the real protocol, Ms Stepanova answered that the observes
had been gone by the time signing of the real protocol.
However, one of the official documents also lacks a signature
of the local commission member; whereas he somehow managed
to signed the protocols given to the observers.
A member of the Moscow Electoral Commission who also participate
in the trial stated that he could not see any grounds for
abrogation of the results of the voting at polling station
No 887 and 888. He said that the will of the voters was clear
both from the observers’ and the official protocols.
The next session of the court is scheduled on December 1,
2009 (at 11 a.m.).
The copies of the observers’ protocols are reproduced at
the Moscow YABLOKO web-site: polling station No 887
and No 888.
See also:
Elections
to the Moscow City Duma, 2009
Moscow’s
Carousel Elections.By Sergei Mitrokhin. The
Moscow Times, October 23, 2009
On
non-recognition of the results of the elections of October
11, 2009, and the need to investigate cases of franchise violations.
Statement of the Bureau of the Russian United Democratic Party
YABLOKO.
October 19, 2009
Election
fraud at the Moscow City Duma elections. From the Live Journal
of Igor Yakovlev, Press Secretary of the YABLOKO party
Violations
at the Moscow City Duma elections. Press Release. October
12, 2009
Court rules
out that the results of the voting at the Moscow City Duma
election at polling station No 192 are void. Press release,
October 22, 2009
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