04 March 2008

GPPi Fellow comments on Russian election on two German news channels

In the aftermath of the Russian elections GPPi Fellow Sergey Lagodinsky appeared on the leading German News channel N24 and "Quadriga", a program by Deutsche Welle TV, the German state television for foreign broadcasts, to comment on the Russian electoral outcome.

Asked about the democratic nature of the Russian elections, Lagodinsky stressed that the new Russian president will be perceived and accepted by the Russian population as a legitimate head of state. However, this legitimacy does not originate in democratic nature of this election, but rather in the endorsement by the current President Putin whom most of Russians wish to keep as president beyond his constitutionally allowed tenure. Lagodinsky pointed out not only the lack of democracy, but also to the lack of "election", since serious alternative candidates were disqualified prior to electoral race. He pointed to reported irregularities during the voting process with independent observers being excluded from their work and the number of voters exaggerated. The Russian election has therefore confirmed Sergey Lagodinsky's concerns voiced during his appearance at the Press Club of Deutsche Welle last week.  

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