Putin warns against possible foreign meddling in poll, page

Putin warns against possible foreign meddling in poll

www.reuters.com

MOSCOW (Reuters) - President Vladimir Putin told Russia's state security service on Wednesday to raise its guard against outside attempts to meddle in a March election which is expected to bring to power his hand-picked successor.

Putin's warning of foreign intrigues, stopping short of naming states, appealed to a growing nationalist mood likely to help buoy his chosen candidate to power, Dmitry Medvedev.

Critics, however, complain of an authoritarian climate stifling democratic debate ahead of the March 2 poll.

Europe's main election watchdog told Russia it would refuse to monitor the presidential vote unless Moscow eased restrictions. Putin, who has indicated he will continue to wield political influence even after Medvedev has taken over, has made no secret of his irritation with foreign observers.

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Heh-Putin should just hire Diebold, and his worries would be over. I see Russia basically isn't much different than the states in hand-picking the leader candidates. What a joke.

www.reuters.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

Two sides to every story-Opponents are claiming the whole election is process is corrupted...Sound like the states. haha

Opponents accuse Kremlin of Election Farce

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Opponents of Russian President Vladimir Putin's chosen successor Dmitry Medvedev said on Tuesday his refusal to hold television debates ahead of a March 2 election showed the ballot was a farce.

Europe's leading election watchdog said it would not be able to monitor the presidential poll properly because the Kremlin had imposed serious restrictions on observer numbers and length of stay. No decision had been made yet on the mission, it said.

Medvedev's opponents, wary of Putin's plans to retain influence behind the scenes, said the Kremlin wanted to silence them and that it would be even harder for opposition candidates to secure air time to get their views across.

"(The Kremlin is) afraid to face us," the main opposition candidate, veteran Communist Party leader Gennady Zyuganov, told reporters on a campaign trip to Siberia's Altai region.

Former Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov, an outspoken Kremlin opponent who was disqualified from running in the poll by the Central Election Commission, urged opposition candidates to boycott the vote.


Continued
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