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Russian public’s trust in elections grew significantly in past years — expert

During an official event to commemorate the 25th anniversary of Russia’s electoral system, Putin said that all reforms in the system have been intended to strengthen democratic mechanisms

© Artyom Geodakyan/TASS

MOSCOW, October 31. /TASS/. The citizens’ trust in Russia’s electoral system has increased significantly in past years, member of the Russian Public Chamber and Director of the Fund for Democracy Studies Maxim Grigoryev has told TASS.

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Putin calls for end to election rigging

During an official event to commemorate the 25th anniversary of Russia’s electoral system, Putin said that all reforms in the system have been intended to strengthen democratic mechanisms. He also urged leaving no loopholes for vote tampering and supported the idea of electronic voting on the condition that it is totally tamper-proof.

"I totally agree with the president’s evaluation of the Central Election Commission’s work and of the electoral system in general. A lot has been done in the past years under the chairmanship of Ella Pamfilova. Undoubtedly, the public’s trust in the elections has increased significantly in the past years," Grigoryev said.

"The things mentioned in the president’s speech mean that the system will be further changed and improved, and the limits that he had set are extremely important," the expert added.

Meanwhile, a member of the Presidential Council on Civil Society and Human Rights, Alexander Brod, noted Putin’s "fair words" about further improvements of the electoral legislation, the work of the electoral system and harsh measures against election violations.

"These words have a solid basis, a practical foundation. In the past years, we witnessed how mechanisms of public control and election transparency were being improved," he said.

According to Brod, the public discussion about fair elections has intensified in the past years, with voices of non-governmental organization and civil society activists "being heard." More attention is being paid to accuracy of electoral registers and accessibility of electoral system, he said.

"This demonstrates that elections are becoming more and more competitive, and the public’s interest in them is on the increase," the expert said. "This could be seen during the most recent voting, the second round of regional elections.".

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