Seventh Russian Duma Elections

[Imperator Azenquor]

Seventh Duma Elections to be held this week

 

 

Once again, citizens across the Greater Russian Empire will head to the polls to elect the 701 members of the Russian Federal Duma. This election marks the seventh vote for the Federal Duma since the creation of the Greater Russian Empire and is likely to be watched closely by individuals across the political spectrum. Given the controversy surrounding the sixth Duma elections and their results, most political parties are seeking to avoid a repeat of those elections.

 

Many political analysts believe that the elections present an opportunity to strengthen confidence in the Federal institutions of the Russian state and are expressing the hope that the elections result in a strong mandate to a single political party. With security concerns abroad and economic issues at home, the next government needs a clear mandate and strong support to tackle the various issues facing Russia today.

 

Will the Russian Fatherland Party (RFP) manage to win a second term, or has the election controversy dented their chances? Is United Russia (UR) surging back to triumph, or heading for disaster?

[Imperator Azenquor]

[b][u]Voting ends as high turnout is predicted[/b][/u]

 

[i]“Voting has now concluded at polling stations across Russia as citizens cast their ballots to elect the members of the seventh Federal Duma of the Greater Russian Empire. Most voting locations are reporting above average voter turnout with a handful of locations reporting estimated turnouts of 84% or higher.

 

Unlike in some of the previous Duma elections, the government has announced that no exit polls will be issued prior to the announcement of the final results. There will also be no reporting of partial results as the vote counting process is underway. In light of these changes, Election officials have asked the public to be patient and to be prepared to wait for several hours while the results are calculated and verified.

 

While some members of United Russia (UR) have claimed to have witnessed electoral fraud during the elections, no official complaints have been filed. Additionally there have been no complaints made by observers from the various political parties who are witnessing the vote counting process.

 

Despite the absence of exit polls during this election, the leadership of the Communist Party has already announced that it’s ‘reliable sources’ have information suggesting that the party has won 28% of the vote with the Socialists winning 31%. Communist Party leader Radislav Berdymuhamedov has all but declared victory. Electoral officials have refused to comment on Mr. Berdymuhamedov’s claim but have labelled his statement ‘irresponsible’. Russian Fatherland Party Leader Rinald Kanic refused to speculate about the electoral results, but described Mr. Berymuhamedov’s public comments as the ‘deluded rambling of an old man whose ideology is long past its expiration date’.[/i]

 

[Imperator Azenquor]

Fatherland Party wins super-majority as Communists see vote collapse

 

“After electoral officials took the decision to prevent the release of partial election results, they have announced the finalized results of the Russian Federal Duma elections. According to the election agency, there was a turnout of 84.16% of eligible voters across the Greater Russian Empire. Of total votes cast, less than 1.4% of votes were disqualified either as a result of the individual selecting more than one political party, or by spoiling their ballot in other ways.

 

Of the valid votes cast, 75% of votes were for the Russian Fatherland Party and its leadership team of Rinald Kanic and Felix Matviyenko. The only other party to obtain sufficient votes to enter the Federal Duma was the Meritocratic Socialist Party which obtained 25% of the vote. This result means that the Russian Fatherland Party will have 525 seats in the 701 member Federal Duma, while the Meritocratic Socialists will hold the remaining 176 seats. This result gives the Fatherland party 174 seats more than the 351 seats required to obtain a majority. The results will mean that there will be a strong Fatherland Party government that will hold a supermajority for the next Federal Duma’s term.

 

Fatherland Party leader Rinald Kanic has hailed the party’s victory as ‘a renewed vote of confidence in the government by the Russian people’ and a ‘strong mandate for further progress and reform’. As was widely expected, the Communist Party has challenged the results and has claimed that ‘massive fraud has taken place’. The Communist Party has sought to have the election results annulled, but they have not presented any substantiated evidence of electoral fraud or any actions that would invalidate the election results.

 

In light of the poor showing by the Communist Party, there are now persistent rumors that party leader Radislav Berdymuhamedov may face a leadership challenge due to his lackluster tenure as Communist Party leader. There are even suggestions that the party’s decision to challenge the electoral results may in fact be motivated more by a desire to keep the party’s name in the news or to deflect attention from the party’s poor performance.”

Edited September 30, 2014 by Imperator Azenquor

[Imperator Azenquor]

[b][u]Communist electoral challenge dismissed as PM forms cabinet[/b][/u]

 

"The last of the handful of electoral challenges mounted by Communist Party leader Radislav Berdymuhamedov were dismissed by the Electoral Council this morning. In its ruling, the Council stated that the Communist Party failed to provide sufficient evidence to support their allegations of electoral fraud. Accordingly, the ruling said, the Council had no choice but to determine that the allegations were without merit and may have been an attempt to ‘delay the certification of the election results’.

 

In the ruling, the Electoral Council apologized to the Russian people for the delay in the certification of the election results and stated that internal policies will be reviewed to ensure that electoral challenges and investigations are handled in a timely manner from now on.

 

With the results of the election now certified and all challenges dismissed, Prime Minister-designate Rinald Kanic has submitted a request to His Imperial Majesty the Tsar to be permitted to form a new government. If approval is granted, Kanic will lead the Fatherland Party government as the next Prime Minister. In an unsurprising development, Prime Minister-designate Kanic has reappointed all outgoing Fatherland Party ministers.

 

Communist Party Leader Berdymuhamedov released a statement accepting the ruling of the Electoral Council but maintaining that ‘serious electoral fraud’ took place. The Communist Party leader has called for the party to undergo a period of ‘intense reflection’ on the results and to chart a new way forward. In his statement, Berdymuhamedov also reminded the Meritocratic Socialist Party, that it now has a ‘profound responsibility to the working classes’ as the only left-wing opposition party in the 7^th Duma."