Gorbachev Calls for Election Results in Russia to be Annulled
Russia has been the site of much turmoil and protest after parliamentary elections earlier this week. Now, former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev has joined world leaders in calling for official action to be taken.
He told Russia’s Interfax news agency: “More and more people are starting to believe that the election results are not fair. Therefore I think they [authorities] can only take one decision-annul the results of the election and hold new ones.”
Gorbachev served as Head of State of the Soviet Union from 1988-1991, until the Union’s dissolution. He won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1990 and is thought of as a Russian leader and representative in the world, even though he is no longer Head of State.
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Current Prime Minister Vladimir Putin was elected in 2000 and re-elected in 2004. In the latest elections, Putin’s party lost a considerable amount of seats, which many view as a sign of change in Russia.
The elections, though, have also led to claims of election fraud by Putin’s party. United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE): “The Russian people, like people everywhere, deserve the right to have their voices heard and their votes counted.”
She continued: “That means they deserve free, fair, transparent elections and leaders who are accountable to them.”
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov responded to Clinton’s comments saying the “statements…are unacceptable.” He also urged the United States and other countries to let Russia handle its own elections and not intervene.
This comes after protesters took to the streets in Moscow and St. Petersburg. Reports vary as to how many people participated in protests but range from the hundreds to thousands.
President Obama met with Putin in 2009 and told reporters, “We think there’s an excellent opportunity to put U.S.-Russian relations on a much stronger footing.”
Clinton’s statements to OSCE, though, show that the relationship is becoming strained in light of recent activity.
