MOSCOW, March 21. /TASS/. Russian diplomats faced a very challenging situation in setting up overseas voting but "did everything that they possibly could do" in their tireless efforts to organize the process, Russian Central Election Commission (CEC) Chairwoman Ella Pamfilova said at a CEC meeting.
"The Russian Foreign Ministry and diplomats faced a very difficult situation under these conditions, because under very tense circumstances they went to the very limit of what was possible amid the shameless, cynical, unprecedented violation of the voting rights of Russian citizens abroad on the part of those who have designated us as the enemy, with a great deal of effort. The did everything that they possibly could do," she emphasized.
According to Pamfilova, the diplomats did everything possible so that those who left Russia for any reason, including the so-called radical opposition, could exercise their right to vote. "They maximized this (all opportunities - TASS). Despite the massive propaganda narrative, a total of 388,791 [expatriate Russian] citizens voted abroad in the presidential election," Pamfilova said.
She recounted that a total of 295 polling stations were set up in 144 countries, including at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. According to Pamfilova, this is less than during the 2018 presidential election, when overseas Russians had the opportunity to vote at 401 polling stations. The CEC chief noted that the process of organizing this year's election took place under unprecedented pressure. "Diplomats were expelled, diplomatic missions were closed, vehicles with Russian license plates were seized as if by thieves, logistics links deteriorated, there was a lack of willingness to provide security, foreign authorities were indulgent toward various types of provocative actions, many facts related to the unprecedented level of sanctions on their part; all these factors complicated the situation," Pamfilova added.
So, she emphasized, it was decided to organize voting at polling stations in border areas. "We set up cross-border voting stations in three of our regions - the Pskov, Leningrad and Kaliningrad regions. <...>. Despite all the intimidation [by our enemies], we could note the degree of courage of Russians based on the example of those 7,910 of our citizens who were not afraid and voted [at these polling stations]," Pamfilova concluded.