MOSCOW, August 8. /TASS/. Russia’s Central Election Commission (CEC) has the right to postpone elections in Russia’s new regions due to security threats but at this time, this step looks unnecessary, CEC chairperson, Ella Pamfilova, said on Tuesday.
"We have the right and capability, if the situation dramatically deteriorates in any of the four new Russian regions and we see that there is a threat to voters’ security, we have the right to postpone the elections there," she told a news conference at TASS. "We can decide this right up to the very last moment. This means that if we see that the situation poses a threat to the elections in any territory up to the beginning of voting on September 10, we can postpone them. So far, everything is proceeding smoothly, our colleagues are working."
Russia’s Unified Election Day falls on September 10. The Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) and Lugansk People’s Republics (LPR), as well as the Zaporozhye and Kherson Regions, will take part in the nationwide voting for the first time since joining the Russian Federation. More than 4,000 election campaigns for various public offices are expected to take place across Russia’s 89 regions. As many as 21 regions will hold direct elections of top officials and 20 regions will elect members of local legislatures. The future holders of over 34,000 political offices will be determined.