MOSCOW, September 5. /TASS/. Russia's electoral system is "unique," much more fluid than the frameworks that exist in the West, Central Election Commission (CEC) Chairwoman Ella Pamfilova said in a report on the readiness of election commissions to host citizens on the single voting day.
She said the elections have never been held under "such extreme conditions," but all measures have been taken to ensure the safety of voters.
Pamfilova emphasized that citizens could vote online if they wanted to, while election commissions would decide on their own whether it was necessary to carry out multi-day voting. The CEC chairwoman added that the presidential election held this "special year" showed how much the people wanted to see Vladimir Putin back in office.
TASS has gathered Pamfilova's key statements.
The election system
Russia has a "unique electoral system with no equivalent in the world." Unlike the West, it has no rigid framework.
The CEC is developing and improving electoral standards despite special circumstances in some regions: "We continue to develop and improve these mechanisms and standards, working for the future and perspective, for the situation that will inevitably emerge when we win."
All procedures are supervised by observers: "We have a multi-stage system of public oversight. This system is fully engaged and will continue to work. There is nothing like it anywhere else in the world."
Russia's electoral system is something to behold, "but there is more work to do," so one should not relax: "We need to continue working on each point and strengthen all aspects."
Single voting day
The Central Election Commission has never held a single voting day under "such extreme conditions." The CEC took all necessary measures to ensure the safety of Russian voters.
All political parties are taking part in the upcoming elections at various levels, which is the first time this has happened since the 2012 party reform: "All parties are taking part in the elections in some capacity."
Almost 45,000 polling stations in 83 Russian regions will host voting at various levels.
The election commissions of 19 Russian regions have set up 209 extraterritorial polling stations.
More than 40,000 polling stations in 75 regions will be equipped with video surveillance.
E-vote
About 920,000 applications have been submitted for online voting for the September elections in 25 regions.
"Besides, e-voting will be held in Moscow with the use of more than 6,000 e-voting terminals."
The decision to vote online is voluntary: "If you don't want to - you don’t have to."
Multi-day voting
Russian voters continue to support the idea of multi-day voting, as this gives them more options for when to vote. However, the CEC has not instituted a policy of voting on multiple days; local election commissions decide whether they want to do this themselves.
Early voting
More than 25,000 people have taken part in early voting in remote and hard-to-reach areas in 20 Russian regions since August 18: "At a weather station, on an icebreaker or elsewhere, a person will be able to vote. We have ensured [voting] even in space, by the way. Our cosmonauts will be able to vote."
Almost a third of voters cast their ballots during early voting in elections in the Kursk Region.
Vybory (Elections) State Automated System
The Russian electoral system will abandon the long-standing "Vybory" system after the single voting day in September: "It has been in service for almost 25 years. It worked effectively."
Next year, the CEC will roll out a digital analog of this system - "Vybory 2.0," which will also be completely isolated from the Internet. Moreover, it is more advanced and operates on Russian software. The new system will be used in 45 regions in a test run this year.
The previous elections
This year’s Russian presidential election was a testament to democracy, allowing the Russian people to express their will freely.
The West was annoyed by the fact that the Russian people chose Vladimir Putin in the election: "They [the West] understood <...> the sentiment of Russian society through their channels. <...> What annoyed them the most was that there was such a mood in society - [to vote] for Putin, for the incumbent president."
The CEC and the authorities managed to prevent a large-scale sabotage of ballots at the presidential election: "All their tremendous work aimed at carrying out this provocation has failed."