EU, Nato say Russian election not ‘free and fair’
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Russia's three-day vote is expected to result in President Vladimir Putin claiming another six years in power.
PHOTO: AFP
BRUSSELS – The European Union and Nato said on March 14 that an election in Russia set to see President Vladimir Putin re-elected would not be free or fair because the Kremlin has crushed all opposition.
Ms Yulia Navalnaya, the widow of deceased Kremlin foe Alexei Navalny, has urged the West not to recognise the results of the presidential election, which starts on March 15.
“We know, given the track record of how votes are being prepared and organised in Russia under the current Kremlin administration and regime, how this will look like,” said EU spokesman Peter Stano.
“It’s very difficult to foresee that this would be a free, fair and democratic election where the Russian people would really have a choice.”
Nato secretary-general Jens Stoltenberg said the ballot “in Russia will not be free and fair”.
“We know already that opposition politicians are in jail, some are killed, and many are in exile, and actually also some who tried to register as candidates have been denied that right,” he added.
“There is no free and independent press in Russia.”
The three-day vote, expected to result in Mr Putin claiming another six years in power, comes after his invasion of Ukraine destroyed ties between Moscow and the West.
Both the EU and Nato condemned Russia’s decision to stage the vote in areas of Ukraine that are occupied by its soldiers and that Moscow claims as its own territory.
“Russia’s attempts to organise any part of an election in occupied regions of Ukraine are completely illegal, violating international law,” Mr Stoltenberg said.
Mr Stano said the ballot in those regions “is not being recognised, and it will not be recognised by the EU”.
Victory in the March 15 to 17 contest will allow Mr Putin to stay in the Kremlin until at least 2030, longer than any Russian leader since Catherine the Great in the 18th century.
No genuine opposition candidate has been allowed onto the ballot.
The Russian leader will officially face off against three Kremlin-approved candidates from political parties loyal to him and his policies. AFP
