“Military censorship” –

“But never before have we seen a presidential campaign so far from constitutional standards.” The Russian non-governmental organization Golos writes this in its report on the observation of the presidential elections in the Federation. The electoral campaign, continues the NGO, «took place in a situation in which the fundamental articles of the Russian Constitution, which guarantee political rights and freedoms, were essentially not in force, and the Constitution itself was modified to circumvent the restriction to hold the office of president for more than two terms. The fundamental constitutional protection once morest the misappropriation of power has been dismantled.”

The elections, Golos explains further, «took place in conditions in which the state apparatus, obliged to be politically neutral and to act in the interests of society, was actually involved in propaganda, coercion and control over voters. Military censorship was actually born in the country and was implemented through fear and force.” The common thread of these elections, according to Golos, was the word “imitation”, imitation of legality, freedom of choice, electoral campaign, opposition and participation in the challenge for power, imitation of openness, publicity, observation , independence of electoral commissions and popular sovereignty Only “violence once morest the people who are bearers of sovereignty has not become an imitation”, adds the NGO.