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Gorbachev Raps Russia's "Mockery" of Democracy
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| Contributor | Ralphie |
| Last Edited | Ralphie Oct 19, 2009 10:58am |
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| Category | Perspective |
| News Date | Monday, October 19, 2009 04:00:00 PM UTC0:0 |
| Description | Russia's disputed regional elections have made a mockery of the country's democratic credentials, former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev said in an interview published on Monday.
Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's ruling United Russia party won a landslide victory in the Oct. 11 regional elections, but opposition parties have alleged that the votes were rigged and briefly marched out of the parliament last week in protest.
"In everyone's eyes, the elections turned into a mockery of the people and showed a deep disrespect for their voices," Gorbachev was quoted as saying in the opposition Novaya Gazeta newspaper, which he part-owns.
Gorbachev, who is reviled by many Russians for presiding over the collapse of the Soviet Union, has previously said the United Russia party is more servile than the Soviet Communist Party he used to lead.
Independent observers criticized the regional elections — in which about a third of Russia's voters were eligible to take part — as rigged and said the entire campaigning process prevented a free and fair vote.
But a protest last week by normally compliant lawmakers from the three main opposition parties in the parliament illustrated the perilous state of Russia's democracy, Gorbachev said.
"If even such disciplined, cautious people, who are so close to power, decided to issue a demarche, that means confidence in the political institution of elections is completely lost," Gorbachev was quoted as saying. |
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