٠٠:٠٢:٣٣The Chairperson of the Russian Central Election Commission, Ella Pamfilova, said that deliberate spoiling of ballot papers with green paint during the Russian presidential election had prompted a 'storm of outrage' among ordinary voters, during a briefing in Moscow on Sunday.
"Vain attempts of these, I would call them, [Ukrainian leader Volodymyr] Zelensky’s 'greenies' (those who spoil ballots with green paint) are pathetic, ridiculous and disgusting. It’s not even a big deal: there are less than two dozen [cases of spoiling ballots with paint] across the country. But what has happened is that they have caused such a storm of outrage among people that we have been flooded with calls: they say they didn't even think of voting for some reasons, but now they have put everything aside and are going to vote," Pamfilova said, adding that it had sparked significant 'civic consciousness'.
Meanwhile Valery Fadeyev, head of the Russian Presidential Human Rights Council, claimed that no violations that could affect the result had been found at polling stations.
"The presidential election is taking place strictly within the constitutional framework: nomination of candidates, election campaign, voting procedure - everything is as it should be according to the law, there is no emergency," he said, saying that it 'shows the stability and strength of the Russian social and political system'.
Pamfilova previously reported that 214 ballot papers were spoiled following attempts to tamper with ballot boxes in 20 constituent entities of the Russian Federation.
At time of publication, the voter turnout in the presidential election, including remote electronic voting, was reported to be 70.57 percent, according to the Russian Central Election Commission.
Russia's presidential election takes place over three days on March 15-17, with early voting between February 25 and March 14.
The four candidates are Leonid Slutsky of the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia (LDPR), the Communist Party's Nikolai Kharitonov, Vladislav Davankov of the New People Party and incumbent President Vladimir Putin, running as an independent candidate.
'Storm of outrage' - Elections chair Pamfilova on spoilt ballot incidents at polling stations during presidential vote
The Chairperson of the Russian Central Election Commission, Ella Pamfilova, said that deliberate spoiling of ballot papers with green paint during the Russian presidential election had prompted a 'storm of outrage' among ordinary voters, during a briefing in Moscow on Sunday.
"Vain attempts of these, I would call them, [Ukrainian leader Volodymyr] Zelensky’s 'greenies' (those who spoil ballots with green paint) are pathetic, ridiculous and disgusting. It’s not even a big deal: there are less than two dozen [cases of spoiling ballots with paint] across the country. But what has happened is that they have caused such a storm of outrage among people that we have been flooded with calls: they say they didn't even think of voting for some reasons, but now they have put everything aside and are going to vote," Pamfilova said, adding that it had sparked significant 'civic consciousness'.
Meanwhile Valery Fadeyev, head of the Russian Presidential Human Rights Council, claimed that no violations that could affect the result had been found at polling stations.
"The presidential election is taking place strictly within the constitutional framework: nomination of candidates, election campaign, voting procedure - everything is as it should be according to the law, there is no emergency," he said, saying that it 'shows the stability and strength of the Russian social and political system'.
Pamfilova previously reported that 214 ballot papers were spoiled following attempts to tamper with ballot boxes in 20 constituent entities of the Russian Federation.
At time of publication, the voter turnout in the presidential election, including remote electronic voting, was reported to be 70.57 percent, according to the Russian Central Election Commission.
Russia's presidential election takes place over three days on March 15-17, with early voting between February 25 and March 14.
The four candidates are Leonid Slutsky of the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia (LDPR), the Communist Party's Nikolai Kharitonov, Vladislav Davankov of the New People Party and incumbent President Vladimir Putin, running as an independent candidate.
The Chairperson of the Russian Central Election Commission, Ella Pamfilova, said that deliberate spoiling of ballot papers with green paint during the Russian presidential election had prompted a 'storm of outrage' among ordinary voters, during a briefing in Moscow on Sunday.
"Vain attempts of these, I would call them, [Ukrainian leader Volodymyr] Zelensky’s 'greenies' (those who spoil ballots with green paint) are pathetic, ridiculous and disgusting. It’s not even a big deal: there are less than two dozen [cases of spoiling ballots with paint] across the country. But what has happened is that they have caused such a storm of outrage among people that we have been flooded with calls: they say they didn't even think of voting for some reasons, but now they have put everything aside and are going to vote," Pamfilova said, adding that it had sparked significant 'civic consciousness'.
Meanwhile Valery Fadeyev, head of the Russian Presidential Human Rights Council, claimed that no violations that could affect the result had been found at polling stations.
"The presidential election is taking place strictly within the constitutional framework: nomination of candidates, election campaign, voting procedure - everything is as it should be according to the law, there is no emergency," he said, saying that it 'shows the stability and strength of the Russian social and political system'.
Pamfilova previously reported that 214 ballot papers were spoiled following attempts to tamper with ballot boxes in 20 constituent entities of the Russian Federation.
At time of publication, the voter turnout in the presidential election, including remote electronic voting, was reported to be 70.57 percent, according to the Russian Central Election Commission.
Russia's presidential election takes place over three days on March 15-17, with early voting between February 25 and March 14.
The four candidates are Leonid Slutsky of the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia (LDPR), the Communist Party's Nikolai Kharitonov, Vladislav Davankov of the New People Party and incumbent President Vladimir Putin, running as an independent candidate.