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Amount of fake news on constitutional amendments vote ‘off the charts’ — Kremlin

The spokesman was asked to comment on reports that one voting station was deployed in the trunk of a car that moved from house to house collecting ballots

MOSCOW, June 26. /TASS/. The amount of fake news regarding the nationwide vote on constitutional amendments is off the charts, but it is up to the Central Electoral Commission to look into possible violations, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Friday.

"We are not ready to perceive impersonal data, we are ready to perceive specific data, ready to relay it to the Central Electoral Commission, because, of course, [violations] are unacceptable," Peskov said, commenting on reports of forced voting and other violations, recapping President Vladimir Putin’s remarks of the priority of absolute legitimacy of the amendments vote and unacceptability of any manipulations and frauds.

Peskov urged to report specific cases. "The number of fake news stories is off the scale right now," the spokesman said.

Commenting on reports that one voting station was deployed in the trunk of a car that moved from house to house collecting ballots in Vladivostok in the Far East, Peskov noted: "About that car’s trunk, unless it’s a fake, […] one must turn to the electoral commission in Vladivostok, especially considering there are organizations interested in the purity of the vote."

The spokesman underscored that it remains to be determined whether this constitutes a forbidden voting format. Besides, Peskov noted, "this is not a forced vote." "It is very important to get all the details right," the spokesman said.

Answering a question about the Kremlin’s position on voting outside of voting stations and reports of voting "in courtyards and on benches," Peskov underscored that Kremlin does not perceive "publications on some websites as the truth in the first instance."

"Unfortunately, we have more reasons to perceive it as a lie," the spokesman said.

However, he continued, even if such reports are true, the issue of compliance of this format with the law must be addressed to the Central Electoral Commission. "On benches or not — the important thing is whether this complies with the law or not," Peskov said, recalling that voting from home is allowed. "How is this different from a bench?" he asked.

About the vote

The nationwide vote on constitutional amendments kicked off on June 25 across Russia. According to a presidential order, July 1 is the official voting day, although Russian citizens are allowed to cast their vote starting on June 25. This is done in a bid to minimize the coronavirus spread.

Voting stations will be open between 08:00 and 20:00 local time in all regions of Russia, vote count will begin on 20:00 on July 1, for all voting days at once.

Voting is also possible outside of polling stations, including in the proximity of residential buildings, as well as contactless voting from home, online voting for residents of Moscow and the Nizhny Novgorod regions, and voting via the Mobile Voter app.