Russian Election Commission Head Says ‘No One Is Untouchable’ on Violations

Russian State Duma Building file photo

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – June 6, 2016)

The head of Russia’s Central Election Commission, Ella Pamfilova, said that an interdepartmental working group is being set up to quickly react to election violations, the Rossiiskaya Gazeta government daily reported Monday.

The working group will include representatives of the Prosecutor General’s Office, the Interior Ministry and the Investigative Committee, Pamfilova said in an interview with the newspaper. The group will arrange immediate visits to regions where serious violation are reported, according to Pamfilova.

The violations can be reported through hotlines, she said. If violations are detected, Pamfilova didn’t exclude the initiation of criminal proceedings.

“No one is untouchable for us,” she was quoted as saying by the newspaper.

Pamfilova, appointed head of the Central Election Commission about two months ago, said in an interview with the Ekho Moskvy radio station that she will resign if elections are found to be unfair.

In April, the Central Election Commission cancelled elections in the Moscow Region’s Barvikha after four opposition candidates withdrew due to alleged violations.

Parliamentary elections will be held in Russia in September.

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