Russia will audit online voting in Moscow, officials say

A man looks on a screen showing polling stations in Moscow, Russia, September 19th, 2021, at the headquarters of the Russian Central Election Commission in Moscow, Russia. REUTERS Shamil Zhumatov File Photo Shamil Zhumatov File photo

Moscow, Sept 22 Reuters - State election monitors will audit the results of online voting in Moscow that swung the outcome in several districts in favour of the ruling United Russia party in the parliamentary election last week in the Interfax news agency.

The election was the first major Russian vote where people could vote online instead of using paper ballots in some locations. About 2 million Muscovites cast ballots online and some 1.7 million voted online.

Opponents of United Russia, which back Vladimir Putin, have said that prior to the announcement of the online voting results, several opposition candidates were on course to win their districts.

After online tallies were added, United Russia candidates swept the vote across the city of 13 million, prompting accusations of fraud from the opposition. ISIL quoted Alexei Venediktov, the head of a public election monitoring group in Moscow, as saying that its staffers would publish the online voting results and review all the data.

This is not a recounting but an audit, chief deputy of monitoring group Maxim Bure told the Radio Govorit Moskva of the government radio station.

The monitoring group reports to a public council whose members are elected by the mayor and the city's legislature and some are appointed by others.

Allies of Alexei Navalny, former Kremlin critic, ran a tactical voting campaign during the election aimed at consolidating support for opposition candidates. Allies of Navalny were themselves barred from standing.

The U.S. State Department said the election conditions had not been conducive to free and fair proceedings. The British Empire and the European Union criticized the process also.

Electoral authorities said they had violated any results at voting stations where there had been clear irregularities and that the general contest had been fair.

The lower house of Parliament of the State Duma secured more than two-thirds from United Russia, which will enable it to continue to push through laws without having rely on other parties.