CEC will check the course of the election campaign in St. Petersburg

MOSCOW, August 9. Representatives of the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation are urgently leaving for St. Petersburg to check the progress of the election campaign for the elections in September, said the head of the CEC Ella Pamfilova, commenting on the appeal addressed to her by singer Tatyana Bulanova about alleged violations of this process in the city. Previously, Bulanova recorded a video message to Pamfilova, in which reported that St. Petersburg officials hinder the election campaign of the Rodina party, from which the singer is running for the State Duma, and asked to send an independent commission to the city to assess the situation. Ella Pamfilova: the number of attempts to discredit the elections will be unprecedented «Our representatives, qualified professional staff of the apparatus are urgently leaving for St. Petersburg, in order to collect all the necessary information for completeness and objectivity of the picture in addition to the appeals received,» meeting of the CEC on Monday. She also expressed disagreement with the fact that this situation is happening «behind the back» of the governor of St. Petersburg. «He publicly supported and praised the city's electoral system, while the CEC of Russia three times expressed no confidence in the city election commission,» said the head of the CEC. She recalled that in 2019 the commissions proposed to dissolve themselves so that St. Petersburg received a system that would be worthy of this city, but «the chance has been missed, we have changed several chairmen, but things are still there.» Moscow will check all appeals from citizens about coercion to vote «And now, when the governor has actually taken full responsibility for the upcoming elections, he knows very well what is happening. This does not mean that we are withdrawing ourselves. Based on our competencies and responsibilities, we we will take all the necessary steps and respond to appeals that will come to us, «Pamfilova added. She stressed that the CEC gives the city electoral commission another chance, at least in the period remaining before the elections, to put things in order, correct mistakes and conduct a campaign with dignity.