Allegations of Voting Fraud in Russia: Vladimir Putin's 64% Challenged by Election Monitors

After Russia's newly elected president emotionally declared his victory, allegations of electoral fraud have provoked an outcry both at home and abroad. Vladimir Putin allegedly received about 64% of the vote, but international monitors said the election was rigged even before voting officially began. Huge numbers of riot police broke up protests in Moscow and St. Petersburg, and protestors were quickly arrested for what the authorities called "unsanctioned protests." Monitors reported thousands of incidents of vote manipulation, and one of many videos of hidden camera footage shows Putin supporters stuffing ballot boxes. The head of the OSCE short-term observer mission, Tonino Picula, gave this statement, "The point of an election is that the outcome should be uncertain. This was not the case in Russia. The biggest problem with this election is that there was no real competition." The European Union joined the United States and other nations in urging Russia to swiftly investigate the observers' allegations. EU foreign policy chief spokeswoman Catherine Ashton said, "They have identified certain shortcomings both in the preparations and the conduct of these elections, and overall, we share their assessment. We are encouraging Russia to address these shortcomings." Election fraud claims have emboldened protesters who, in rallies across the country, chanted slogans like "Russia without Putin" and vowed not to give up their fight. Opposition leader Sergei Udaltsov said, "I will stay here until Putin goes away. I will not leave, and let's all stay until Putin leaves! Russia without Putin!" Russian election officials say the election was completely fair, and have vowed to point out all the flaws in the American presidential vote in November.