Russia’s fraud-busting Webcams join the party
Putin’s victory eclipsed by election-night voyeurism
Posted in Bootnotes, 4th March 2012 23:30 GMT
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Seeking to reassure voters in Russia’s presidential elections that the poll would be fraud-free, Vladimir Putin ordered that Webcams be set up, complete with live streams, in 95,000 polling stations.
However, while the cameras have failed to stem complaints about the electoral process that’s almost certain to deliver the election to Putin, they have entertained Russians during election day.
In fact, while watchers were amused by polling-station videos of parties (one of which has made it onto YouTube), couples kissing, schoolchildren fighting and the rest of everyday life, election-watchers believe they will be useless as fraud-fighters.
As this report in Ahramonline notes, “the relatively distant and unfocussed pictures hardly realised Putin's aim of lifting all suspicion of fraud.”
Vladimir Putin has claimed victory in the election. ®
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