Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin is poised to win today’s presidential election in the first round as spending pledges helped reverse a drop in popularity after disputed December parliamentary polls.
Putin will get about 60 percent of votes, more than the 50 percent needed to avoid a runoff, surveys predict. Balloting for about 110 million voters begins at 8 a.m. March 4 seven time zones from Moscow in Russia’s Far East. Exit-poll data is due from 9 p.m. in the capital, to be followed by preliminary results. The final outcome will be released within 10 days.
Putin, 59, who first came to power in 1999 and has been premier since handing the presidency to protégé Dmitry Medvedev in 2008, has faced unprecedented protests over a parliamentary vote in December that opposition parties say was rigged in favor of his ruling United Russia party. In trips across the country, Putin vowed to raise state salaries and pensions.
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Showing posts with label election fraud. Show all posts
Showing posts with label election fraud. Show all posts
Saturday, March 3, 2012
Sunday, January 29, 2012
Russians' to fight for free and fair elections!
Russia's opposition, for all its efforts to remain peaceful, could be headed for a confrontation with authorities as the date of its next major demonstration draws near.
The Moscow municipal government rejected the opposition’s request to hold their protest march “For Honest Elections” as planned on Feb. 4, on the grounds that it would "disrupt the normal functioning of vital municipal services, create obstacles . . . for traffic, and violate the rights of citizens not taking part in the event,” according to a document published on an opposition Facebook page. More than 22,000 people have signed up on Facebook to attend the march, despite a forecast temperature of 5 degrees Fahrenheit.
Opposition leaders are discussing the possibility of holding the march without a permit -- a move that may expose demonstrators to arrest and even violence. In his blog on the web site of the Ekho Moskvy radio station, the journalist Sergey Parkhomenko stated the grim truth: “Everything, of course, depends on the protestors themselves, on their courage, decisiveness, and sense of responsibility.
Meanwhile, the opposition and the government are taking measures to ensure that presidential elections, scheduled for March 4, are free and fair -- or at least perceived as such. Last Wednesday, reported the Moscow Times, 16 prominent cybernauts announced the foundation of the League of Voters, which, acting as “a coordinating and advisory body for activists,” will “use the Internet to connect activists nationwide who are agitating for fair elections.” Firebrand anti-corruption blogger Alexei Navalny “was barred from being a member because of his stated presidential ambitions,” the article said.
The Moscow municipal government rejected the opposition’s request to hold their protest march “For Honest Elections” as planned on Feb. 4, on the grounds that it would "disrupt the normal functioning of vital municipal services, create obstacles . . . for traffic, and violate the rights of citizens not taking part in the event,” according to a document published on an opposition Facebook page. More than 22,000 people have signed up on Facebook to attend the march, despite a forecast temperature of 5 degrees Fahrenheit.
Opposition leaders are discussing the possibility of holding the march without a permit -- a move that may expose demonstrators to arrest and even violence. In his blog on the web site of the Ekho Moskvy radio station, the journalist Sergey Parkhomenko stated the grim truth: “Everything, of course, depends on the protestors themselves, on their courage, decisiveness, and sense of responsibility.
Meanwhile, the opposition and the government are taking measures to ensure that presidential elections, scheduled for March 4, are free and fair -- or at least perceived as such. Last Wednesday, reported the Moscow Times, 16 prominent cybernauts announced the foundation of the League of Voters, which, acting as “a coordinating and advisory body for activists,” will “use the Internet to connect activists nationwide who are agitating for fair elections.” Firebrand anti-corruption blogger Alexei Navalny “was barred from being a member because of his stated presidential ambitions,” the article said.
Sunday, January 15, 2012
Canadian Fraud case: Former Chief Executive Officer Frank Dunn, former Chief Financial Officer Douglas Beatty and former Controller Michael Gollogly misstated financial results!!
Three former Nortel Networks Corp. (NRTLQ) executives face trial in a Canadian criminal court accused of a C$5 million ($4.9 million) fraud at what was once North America’s largest telephone-equipment maker before its bankruptcy and dissolution.
Former Chief Executive Officer Frank Dunn, former Chief Financial Officer Douglas Beatty and former Controller Michael Gollogly allegedly misstated financial results between 2000 and 2004, allowing them to pocket millions in bonuses. Their trial is to begin today at Ontario Superior Court in Toronto.
Prosecutors “will be proceeding on two counts of fraud against each accused” in a trial that is expected to last six to nine months, Brendan Crawley, a spokesman for the Ontario Ministry of the Attorney General, said in an e-mail.
Prosecutors will set out their “case in court on the record, and won’t be making any comment before then,” Crawley said.
The accused opted for a trial without a jury and they could face maximum sentences of 14 years. The judge in this case will be Frank Marrocco, the former prosecuting attorney in Canada’s biggest stock-market scandal, the Bre-X Minerals Ltd. (BXM) gold- discovery hoax. In that case, the only executive brought to trial was acquitted in 2007.
Former Chief Executive Officer Frank Dunn, former Chief Financial Officer Douglas Beatty and former Controller Michael Gollogly allegedly misstated financial results between 2000 and 2004, allowing them to pocket millions in bonuses. Their trial is to begin today at Ontario Superior Court in Toronto.
Prosecutors “will be proceeding on two counts of fraud against each accused” in a trial that is expected to last six to nine months, Brendan Crawley, a spokesman for the Ontario Ministry of the Attorney General, said in an e-mail.
Prosecutors will set out their “case in court on the record, and won’t be making any comment before then,” Crawley said.
The accused opted for a trial without a jury and they could face maximum sentences of 14 years. The judge in this case will be Frank Marrocco, the former prosecuting attorney in Canada’s biggest stock-market scandal, the Bre-X Minerals Ltd. (BXM) gold- discovery hoax. In that case, the only executive brought to trial was acquitted in 2007.
Saturday, December 10, 2011
‘Russia Without Putin’ Россия без Путина!
Russians rallied across the country against election fraud in the biggest protests faced by Prime Minister Vladimir Putin in his 12 years in power.
Twenty-five thousand people gathered in the center of Moscow today in near-freezing temperatures and dispersed after 6 p.m. without detentions or violence, police said. Several thousand demonstrated in St. Petersburg and more than 15,000 in about 30 other cities across the world’s biggest country by area, RIA Novosti reported.
The swelling resentment threatens to weaken Putin’s bid to return to the Kremlin in a presidential contest in March. His United Russia party retained a narrow majority in the State Duma, the lower house of parliament, amid accusations of vote rigging in the Dec. 4 parliamentary ballot.
“We are for free elections, we are for democracy,” Ilya Ponomaryov, a Duma lawmaker and one of the protest organizers, told the crowd in Bolotnaya Square, on an island just south of the Kremlin. “We want a recount of the vote.”
As many as 150,000 people turned out for the biggest rally in the capital in two decades, said Vladimir Ryzhkov, a former lawmaker. The organizers are planning to stage protests the next two weekends and will apply for a permit to hold a 500,000- person rally on Sakharov Prospekt, he said.
Twenty-five thousand people gathered in the center of Moscow today in near-freezing temperatures and dispersed after 6 p.m. without detentions or violence, police said. Several thousand demonstrated in St. Petersburg and more than 15,000 in about 30 other cities across the world’s biggest country by area, RIA Novosti reported.
The swelling resentment threatens to weaken Putin’s bid to return to the Kremlin in a presidential contest in March. His United Russia party retained a narrow majority in the State Duma, the lower house of parliament, amid accusations of vote rigging in the Dec. 4 parliamentary ballot.
“We are for free elections, we are for democracy,” Ilya Ponomaryov, a Duma lawmaker and one of the protest organizers, told the crowd in Bolotnaya Square, on an island just south of the Kremlin. “We want a recount of the vote.”
As many as 150,000 people turned out for the biggest rally in the capital in two decades, said Vladimir Ryzhkov, a former lawmaker. The organizers are planning to stage protests the next two weekends and will apply for a permit to hold a 500,000- person rally on Sakharov Prospekt, he said.
Thursday, December 8, 2011
What led to the Russian Revolution of 2011? The possible return of Tsar Putin!!
Thousands of people have taken to Moscow streets to protest the result of the Dec. 4 parliamentary election, which was marred by complaints of violations and ballot-stuffing. The Solidarity movement, an umbrella opposition group, has planned a rally tomorrow near the Kremlin. Prime Minister Vladimir Putin’s United Russia party lost 12 million votes, or more than a quarter of the support it garnered four years ago. Urals crude, Russia’s chief export blend, hit a two-week low.
“Russian politics has become an issue, and for investors, that’s something new, and for some people, it does create uncertainty,” Martin Diggle, director of the $70 million Vulpes Russian Opportunities Fund, said in a phone interview from Geneva. “Europe remains a drag on stocks, and oil is also down.”
“Russian politics has become an issue, and for investors, that’s something new, and for some people, it does create uncertainty,” Martin Diggle, director of the $70 million Vulpes Russian Opportunities Fund, said in a phone interview from Geneva. “Europe remains a drag on stocks, and oil is also down.”
Monday, December 5, 2011
Imagine an X-KGB operative rigging his election....doesn't require any imagination...
MOSCOW — Western election monitors said on Monday that they had observed blatant fraud, including the brazen stuffing of ballot boxes, in the parliamentary elections that delivered surprisingly big losses to United Russia, the party led by Prime Minister Vladimir V. Putin.
The election on Sunday left United Russia clinging to a slim majority, and while the monitors declined to draw firm conclusions, it was clear from their report that vote stealing and other alleged malfeasance could have shifted the outcome in United Russia’s favor.
The scathing report by international observers, combined with dramatic, mostly amateur, footage of alleged election malfeasance posted on the Web, made clear that the authorities would face continuing questions about the fairness of the vote despite the main party’s steep losses.
On Monday evening, thousands of demonstrators gathered on a promenade by the Chistye Prudy metro station in central Moscow, and voiced their opposition to the government at an event organized by the Solidarity Party. Throngs chanted “Russia without Putin!” and “Putin is a Thief.” Police officials estimated the crowd at about 2,000 though some participants said it was larger. There was a heavy police presence and some protesters were detained.
Earlier in the day, thousands of supporters of United Russia held a celebratory event in Revolution Square that took place without incident.
With more than 95 percent of the votes processed, United Russia led with a shade under 50 percent, trailed by the Communists with 19 percent, Just Russia with 13 percent and the Liberal Democrats with nearly 12 percent, according to the Central Election Commission.
After the redistribution of votes for parties that did not clear a minimum threshold to enter the Duma, Russia’s lower house of parliament, United Russia will have 238 seats, or just under 53 percent, down from the 315, or 70 percent, that it holds now, election officials said.
The observers, from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, said their main concerns were about an overall flawed framework that marred the campaign, including no separation between the government and the main political party; the lack of independence for election administrators and the absence of a free, independent mass media.
Some opposition parties were prohibited from running in the elections at all, the observers said. Those that could run faced huge disadvantages as United Russia employed government resources in support of its political aim, the observers said.
Tiny Kox, a senator from the Netherlands and a leader of the monitoring mission, said he personally observed violations including a case at one Moscow polling station where first the voter lists disappeared and then the ballot boxes were opened and clearly stuffed.
“It’s a major violation of the protocol,” he said, “and I think it’s a major insult to all those who voted that day, all these millions of Russian voters.”
But Mr. Kox and other officials said they were precluded from rendering any judgments on how the irregularities might have influenced the results. Observers were not present for the 2007 parliamentary elections because of disputes with Russian election officials. And with tensions high this time as well, officials seemed to be taking extra care not exceed the basic parameters of their role as monitors under multilateral agreements.
Opposition leaders, however, were less circumspect in accusing United Russia of tilting the outcome. “These elections were unprecedented in their filth, pressure and falsification,” said Gennadi A. Zyuganov, the leader of the Communist Party, which finished second, winning about 90 seats.
Mr. Zyuganov said his party would immediately demand a greater say in the running of the government, including the installation of one of its members as deputy speaker of parliament.
Sergei Mironov, the leader of the Just Russia party, also leveled allegations of fraud. At a news conference, Mr. Mironov on Monday said the party was specifically intent on investigating a case of ballot-box stuffing in St. Petersburg, including reports of bundles of premarked ballots. He said the party also wanted an explanation of extremely high voter turnout in two regions, Chechnya and Mordova, southeast of Moscow.
Of United Russia, he said, “They were swindlers and committed gross violations.”
In response to the reports of voting irregularities, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton sharply criticized what she called “troubling practices” before and during the parliamentary elections in Russia. She cited the harassment of Golos, Russian’s only independent election observer organization, reports of ballot stuffing and cyberattacks on Web sites on Election Day.
Golos was fined about $1,000 for violating the law by publishing reports of campaign abuses.
The election on Sunday left United Russia clinging to a slim majority, and while the monitors declined to draw firm conclusions, it was clear from their report that vote stealing and other alleged malfeasance could have shifted the outcome in United Russia’s favor.
The scathing report by international observers, combined with dramatic, mostly amateur, footage of alleged election malfeasance posted on the Web, made clear that the authorities would face continuing questions about the fairness of the vote despite the main party’s steep losses.
On Monday evening, thousands of demonstrators gathered on a promenade by the Chistye Prudy metro station in central Moscow, and voiced their opposition to the government at an event organized by the Solidarity Party. Throngs chanted “Russia without Putin!” and “Putin is a Thief.” Police officials estimated the crowd at about 2,000 though some participants said it was larger. There was a heavy police presence and some protesters were detained.
Earlier in the day, thousands of supporters of United Russia held a celebratory event in Revolution Square that took place without incident.
With more than 95 percent of the votes processed, United Russia led with a shade under 50 percent, trailed by the Communists with 19 percent, Just Russia with 13 percent and the Liberal Democrats with nearly 12 percent, according to the Central Election Commission.
After the redistribution of votes for parties that did not clear a minimum threshold to enter the Duma, Russia’s lower house of parliament, United Russia will have 238 seats, or just under 53 percent, down from the 315, or 70 percent, that it holds now, election officials said.
The observers, from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, said their main concerns were about an overall flawed framework that marred the campaign, including no separation between the government and the main political party; the lack of independence for election administrators and the absence of a free, independent mass media.
Some opposition parties were prohibited from running in the elections at all, the observers said. Those that could run faced huge disadvantages as United Russia employed government resources in support of its political aim, the observers said.
Tiny Kox, a senator from the Netherlands and a leader of the monitoring mission, said he personally observed violations including a case at one Moscow polling station where first the voter lists disappeared and then the ballot boxes were opened and clearly stuffed.
“It’s a major violation of the protocol,” he said, “and I think it’s a major insult to all those who voted that day, all these millions of Russian voters.”
But Mr. Kox and other officials said they were precluded from rendering any judgments on how the irregularities might have influenced the results. Observers were not present for the 2007 parliamentary elections because of disputes with Russian election officials. And with tensions high this time as well, officials seemed to be taking extra care not exceed the basic parameters of their role as monitors under multilateral agreements.
Opposition leaders, however, were less circumspect in accusing United Russia of tilting the outcome. “These elections were unprecedented in their filth, pressure and falsification,” said Gennadi A. Zyuganov, the leader of the Communist Party, which finished second, winning about 90 seats.
Mr. Zyuganov said his party would immediately demand a greater say in the running of the government, including the installation of one of its members as deputy speaker of parliament.
Sergei Mironov, the leader of the Just Russia party, also leveled allegations of fraud. At a news conference, Mr. Mironov on Monday said the party was specifically intent on investigating a case of ballot-box stuffing in St. Petersburg, including reports of bundles of premarked ballots. He said the party also wanted an explanation of extremely high voter turnout in two regions, Chechnya and Mordova, southeast of Moscow.
Of United Russia, he said, “They were swindlers and committed gross violations.”
In response to the reports of voting irregularities, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton sharply criticized what she called “troubling practices” before and during the parliamentary elections in Russia. She cited the harassment of Golos, Russian’s only independent election observer organization, reports of ballot stuffing and cyberattacks on Web sites on Election Day.
Golos was fined about $1,000 for violating the law by publishing reports of campaign abuses.
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