Crossposted at Progressive American Patriot
As was expected, exit polls are showing that Vladimir Putin's personal political party, United Russia, is winning in a landslide. There is, however, widespread allegations of voter intimidation, and intimidation of opposition political parties. The Other Russia, an opposition party led by former world chess champion Garry Kasparov, was not on the ballot because they were not allowed to register as a political party for the election. Bush would be proud, Putin really rigged the elections.
From the Washington Post:
The drive to secure a victory has led authorities to relentlessly exploit state-controlled media and harass and intimidate opposition parties into potential oblivion.
and
Regional governors, most of whom are leading local United Russia lists, have used their powers, including control of the police, to stymie the campaigns of other parties, according to opposition parties and independent observers. And across Russia, employees and students at state enterprises and institutions have complained about being strong-armed into voting for United Russia.
Amazingly, the Washington Post is willing to actually state facts, rather than spread rumors.
CNN quotes a former Putin adviser saying that this election
"meets none of the criteria of a free, fair and democratic election. In effect, it is not even an election."
The New York Times is reporting that:
Election monitors reported widespread cases of ballot fraud.
So much for democracy...