In the span of five days, the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation reported receiving nearly a hundred identical false petitions from fourteen regions alleging irregularities during voting. The commission’s chair noted the pattern during a briefing, attributing the actions to a political group previously dissolved for extremism.
According to the chair, the campaign consists of standardized forms that include the applicant’s personal details and the name of the election written in by hand. The effort appears to originate from multiple regional signatures, with templates most frequently traced to the Samara, Oryol, and Ivanovo regions.
Those who filed the petitions claimed they declined to participate in the elections because they were dissatisfied with how candidates were selected. The cycle of calls, the chair stated, dates back to a historic action that was later annulled by a Supreme Court decision. The group’s alleged leader, a figure previously listed as a foreign agent and wanted on federal and international warrants, was reported to be abroad and in hiding during the court proceedings in 2016.
The commission also noted a high voter turnout on the first day of by-elections for State Duma deputies in the Karachay-Cersistan region, where turnout reached a figure in the mid-portion of a percentage. The observation highlighted the contrast between reported protests and actual participation on election day.
Earlier, the commission had responded to remarks from U.S. political analysts regarding the Russian electoral process, clarifying that the observed patterns and the measures taken were within the established legal and administrative framework, and stressing the importance of safeguarding election integrity as a national concern. These developments are understood within the broader context of ongoing domestic regulatory actions and cross-border scrutiny, with attribution to corresponding authorities and sources as noted in official records.