08 October 2003, 15:02
Observers and human rights defenders give conflicting accounts of election violations
Some observers and human rights activists believe that violations during the presidential election in Chechnya were negligible. They said it at a press conference at the Chechen Election Commission in Grozny on October 6.
"We visited several electoral districts and did not notice at least some serious violations," said Lyudmila Alekseyeva, chairwoman of the Moscow Helsinki Group. "The ones we spotted were minor and can not have influenced the results of the election."
When a correspondent from the Al-Jazeera agency asked about a placard of Akhmad Kadyrov posted on the wall in one district, even though the law stipulated all such materials had to be removed on election day, the chairman of the election commission responded incongruously that "had the placard been lying on the ground it would have been in violation of the law, but on the wall ... there are lots of things."
According to observers, there were other infringements than just posters lying on the ground.
Antuan Arakelyan, a human rights activist from the "Strategy" center, said, "I went to several election districts and perhaps 50-60% of people voted, but surely not 80%."
Sergey Shimovolos, program coordinator of the Moscow Helsinki Group, added, "In the town of Shali, after the local election commission chairman came by delivering sealed boxes to the local administration head, they went inside and locked the door. Wouldn't you agree this is a violation?"
Source: Prague Watchdog
