Russia reports online attacks on electoral system on second day of parliamentary vote
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Live feeds from polling stations across the country shown at the headquarters of the Central Election Commission on Sept 18, the first day of Russia's parliamentary election in Moscow.
PHOTO: REUTERS
MOSCOW – The Russian authorities reported attacks on voting systems and communication lines across the country on Sept 19, the second day of a three-day parliamentary election that Moscow is treating as a test of public support for the war in Ukraine.
The State Duma election, the first since Russia launched its full-scale war in February 2022, is widely expected to see the ruling pro-Putin United Russia party retain its dominance in Russia’s tightly controlled political system.
Most anti-war candidates were excluded from the ballot before voting across Russia’s 11 time zones got under way, after the Supreme Court ruled in August that the liberal Yabloko party, which wants a ceasefire in Ukraine, breached electoral rules, something it denied.
Some Yabloko candidates, however, are still contesting single-member constituencies, which account for half of the 450 seats in the Lower House of Parliament. The party has traditionally polled in the single digits.
On Sept 19, the authorities said the online voting system in Moscow was subjected to a strong attack overnight, but that the situation was under control.
The attacks were continuing, Central Election Commission (CEC) chairwoman Ella Pamfilova was cited as saying by state media, but all were being successfully repelled.
Russia’s digital ministry said it registered a sabotage attempt on communication lines in the country’s Far East, but that the attack was thwarted, and all communication had been restored, state media reported.
President Vladimir Putin earlier accused Ukraine of trying to interfere with the vote, without providing evidence.
Nationwide turnout as of mid-day on Sept 19 stood at 32.58 per cent, according to CEC data cited by state media.
In Moldova’s separatist pro-Russian Transdniestria region, the election triggered a diplomatic dispute with Chisinau over its objections to the Kremlin’s plan to open 15 polling stations for Russian nationals there.
Moscow says the 220,000 residents of Transdniestria, a sliver of land that broke away from Moldova in 1990 at the end of Soviet rule, hold Russian passports and are entitled to vote. REUTERS