Former Putin Advisor Challenges Legitimacy of Next Weeks Parliamentary Elections in Russia

A former advisor to Russian president Vladimir Putin is warning that the upcoming parliamentary elections in Russia will be a fraud. The statement by Andrei Illarionov was made public in a press release issued by the Cato Institute, where the former advisor now works as senior fellow. Illarionov warned of next week's election, "It meets none of the criteria of a free, fair, and democratic election."

In his statement, Illarionov warned that changes made to Russia's electoral system made it almost impossible for opposition parties to compete. He went so far as to say that even the existing rules, though far from fair, had been violated.

"They have turned this election into a special operation conducted by secret police and criminal groups forming the core of the current Russian political regime with its main aim of legitimizing itself in the eyes of the outside world," Illarionov commented.

Putin's former advisor listed off a number of accusations aimed at illustrating the invalidity of the imminent elections. Illarionov claims that a dozen opposition parties were been blocked from participating in the election. He also claimed that the Russian national media had played an obstructionist role, focusing almost exclusively on the activities of United Russia, the party led by Putin.

Putin was also accused of using government resources and the national media to inappropriately promote his own party. Voter intimidation was another reason for concern, according to Illarionov.

"Employees of other organizations and companies are being forced, under threat of being fired, to vote for United Russia at their offices, schools, hospitals and/or provide photo confirmation of their vote for the party of the 'national leader,'" he was quoted as saying.

Illarionov painted a picture of Russia as a land where violent suppression faced voices of opposition to dissent. He said that opposition literature had been seized and destroyed, opposition figures detained, harassed, and terrorized.

"The Russian regime has made necessary preparations for mass falsification and fraud during the poll," according to Illarionov. He cited as evidence the reduced number of international election observes and the fact that Russia's own Central Electoral Commission would not play a role in counting the votes.

In closing, Illarionov called upon democratic governments, individual citizens, international organizations, and the mass media to reject the results of the parliamentary elections, which will begin on December 2, 2007.

Putin recently addressed the issue of parliamentary elections during a speech to foreign diplomats that has been posted on the official Kremlin website".We know the value of authentic democracy and we want to hold honest elections that are as transparent and open as possible, without organizational failures and problems. I am confident that this upcoming election will be of precisely this kind," the Russian president said.