The results of the all-Russian vote on amendments to the Constitution of the Russian Federation must be absolutely reliable, so cheating the turnout, as well as failures in counting votes, is unacceptable. This was stated on Thursday by Russian President Vladimir Putin during a video conference with the new composition of the Civil chamber.
"Our common most important task is to ensure that the results of the all-Russian vote are absolutely reliable and legitimate. We must not allow any coercion, fraud of turnout, not to mention failures in the registration of votes cast, so that later no one can ever question the position that the citizens of Russia will express, " Putin said.
The President noted the great work carried out by the Federal and regional civil chambers to form a corps of independent observers. According to him, this work "was organized not only quickly, but also efficiently", in compliance with all the requirements and restrictions associated with the coronavirus epidemic. Putin called on public officials in cooperation with the election commission to conduct "active, tight monitoring of the voting process in terms of clear, strict compliance with all procedures and rules, including issues of sanitary safety at polling stations, and most importantly, of course, guarantees of free expression of will on the most important, fundamental issue for the present and future" of Russia and each of its citizens.
The head of state noted that changes to the Constitution did not require a national vote under current legislation. "But I thought it was extremely important that people express their direct attitude to the amendments that are being proposed. Only they, only our citizens, have the right to decide what our basic law should be, " the President said. He also thanked the members of the current and previous composition of the Civil chamber for their active participation in the substantive discussion and detailed elaboration of the text of amendments to the basic law, as well as for explaining their essence and meaning in a dialogue with people.
The President indicated that the work [on holding the vote] should be organized at the highest level, so that the results are credible. "This is an absolutely fundamental thing," he stressed.
The all-Russian voting started on June 25 throughout Russia. The main voting day, according to the decree of the President of the Russian Federation, is July 1, but Russians can vote in the period from June 25 to June 30. In addition to voting before the main day, voting is provided outside the voting premises (including on local territories), contactless voting at home, remote electronic voting in Moscow and the Nizhny Novgorod region, and voting at the location using the "Mobile voter" mechanism.
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Photo: official website of the President of the Russian Federation
Based on materials from TASS