The opposition protests in Moscow and denounces fraud in the parliamentary elections

Demonstration on Saturday (25) in Moscow, At the invitation of the Communist Party of Russia, protesting the parliamentary elections in the country. opposition put it in He accuses the authorities of committing a “widespread fraud” during the legislative elections that took place between 17 and 19 September.

In crowded Pushkin Square, the top names in the Communist Party gathered a cohesive and calm crowd to denounce the “stealing” of the elections, an AFP reporter at the scene discovered.

Valery Rashkin, the first secretary of the Moscow Communist Party, said the ruling United Russia party “stole the seats of deputies”, criticizing the “massive electoral fraud in Moscow”.

In turn, President Vladimir Putin, Saturday (25), congratulated the ruling party on the “disguised victory”, saying that Russian democracy was strengthened after a meeting with the leaders of the five parties that won seats in parliament, including Gennady Zyuganov from the party. Communist Party.

Before the start of the demonstration, which was not authorized by the authorities, security forces arrested several political activists, including Sergei Udaltsov, a leader of a far-left party, according to OVD-Info, a non-governmental organization that monitors demonstrations in Russia. .

Their presence on Pushkin Square was felt by the police with great fanfare, but they did not try to break up the demonstration. However, music blared from the speakers to drown out the protesters’ speeches.

The demonstrators chanted “Putin is a thief” and also demanded the release of political prisoners. Some displayed posters calling for a recount, while others expressed support for opponent Alexei Navalny.

The ruling party won a wide two-thirds majority, enough to make amendments to the constitution, a icing on the cake in a tailored election process, while eliminating the president’s main opponents.

Navalny and his allies, who were barred from voting after their movement was labeled “extremist” by courts, devised a strategy to encourage voters to vote for the best-positioned opposition candidates in each district to defeat the party’s governor.

According to the opposition, the “smart voting” strategy could have achieved great success, especially in Moscow, but was thwarted by massive fraud.