Putin hails victory as observers cry foul

[rodeodance]

Source: afp

Putin hails victory as observers cry foul

by Dario Thuburn 36 minutes ago

MOSCOW (AFP) - President Vladimir Putin on Monday hailed his party's landslide election victory and brushed off opposition charges of fraud that were echoed by foreign observers and European governments.


"The legitimacy of the Russian parliament has without a doubt been increased," Putin told reporters after visiting a space research centre in Moscow.

With 98 percent of ballots counted from Sunday's election, Putin's United Russia party had secured 64.1 percent of the vote, giving it more than two thirds of seats in parliament -- a majority sufficient to change the constitution.

"It is clear that Russians will never let their country go down the destructive path of certain countries in the former Soviet space," Putin said, referring to pro-Western popular revolts in Georgia, Kyrgyzstan and Ukraine.

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20071203/ts_afp/russiavote_071203130003;_ylt=AlksFAwNrAz7CU9NsL3yvFKs0NUE

[onehandle]

1. Sorry, this is Chavez day.

Chavez Chavez Chavez Chavez Chavez Chavez Chavez Chavez Chavez Chavez Chavez Chavez Chavez Chavez Chavez Chavez Chavez Chavez Chavez Chavez Chavez Chavez Chavez Chavez Chavez Chavez Chavez Chavez Chavez Chavez Chavez Chavez Chavez Chavez.......

[erpowers]

2. The Election Team Bush Should have been Following

The election with Putin was the one the Bush team should have been following. No matter what Chavez was trying to do he was at least letting the opposition have a say in the election. In Russia, Putin seemed to have disqualified almost every opponent from running in the election.

[Strelnikov_]

3. Chavez has oil and no nukes

Vlad has oil and lots of nukes

PetroDemocracy Quotient trends heavily toward democratizing Venezuela's oil reserves.

[eppur_se_muova]

4. Monitors denounce Russia election (BBC)

Foreign observers have said that Russia's parliamentary election, won by President Vladimir Putin's party, was "not fair".

The statement was made by a joint observer team of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) and the Council of Europe.

With nearly 98% of ballots counted, Mr Putin's United Russia had 64.1% of Sunday's vote.
***
In Russia's troubled region of Chechnya, run by pro-Kremlin President Ramzan Kadyrov, electoral officials have said a partial count showed United Russia won more than 99% of the votes on a 99% turnout.

Opposition leader and former chess world champion Garry Kasparov described the election as "the most unfair and dirtiest in the whole history of modern Russia".
***
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7124585.stm

99% ? Now that's just tacky.

[TheLastMohican]

5. Sounds like Western Ukraine or Georgia

With half of the western Ukraine population working their asses off in Western Europe, they still could vote that Yushenko guy in with 99% vote.
Oh, right that guy we support so we should be 100% behind our government.

[Eugene]

6. Reuters: Big Putin vote in Chechnya has locals puzzled (99+% with 99+% turnout)

Source: Reuters

Big Putin vote in Chechnya has locals puzzled
03 Dec 2007 16:34:37 GMT
Source: Reuters

GROZNY, Russia, Dec 3 (Reuters) - Russia's volatile
Chechnya, once President Vladimir Putin's biggest
headache, ironically turned out to be a big success
story for him in Sunday's election, according to
official figures.

But the Central Election Commission's figures, showing
that Chechens voted in droves for the Kremlin chief's
party United Russia, had some locals scratching their
heads.

The figures indicated that 99.2 percent of voters in
the war-ravaged region of southern Russia had taken
part in the poll and 99.3 percent of them had voted
for United Russia.

-snip-

Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov, a former separatist
warlord turned Kremlin ally, was one of the few people
not to be surprised by the result. He had publicly
promised beforehand to deliver 100 percent of his
republic's vote for Putin.

-snip-

Read more: http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L03585550.htm

[ryanmuegge]

7. Kenny Blackwell must have been on the job there.

[pegleg]

8. Putin youth camps (brown shirts)

http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2007-07-18-russia-putin-youth_N.htm?csp=34

[chatnoir]

9. Nashi

Sort of a cross between the Komsomol and the Hitler Youth, perhaps?

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/11/25/wmoscow225.xml