Russia\u2019s election chief said on Friday that people who vandalise ballot boxes to try to disrupt voting in a three-day presidential election would be jailed for up to five years after a slew of such attacks across Russia.The incidents occurred on the first day of a three-day election that is almost certain to hand Vladimir Putin six more years as Russian president. Election officials said the incidents would have no impact on the outcome.Ella Pamfilova, the chair of the electoral commission, spoke out after state investigators said they had opened a criminal case against a woman who poured green dye into a ballot box in an attempt to damage voting slips.State media said attempts to disrupt voting had taken place in Moscow, in the mountainous Caucasus region of Karachayevo-Cherkessia and in Russian-controlled Crimea, which Russia seized from Ukraine in 2014.Pamfilova said such crimes were punishable by up to five years in jail under Article 141 of the Criminal Code \u2013 obstructing the exercise of electoral rights or the work of electoral commissions.\u201cEspecially for all the scumbags who are ready to destroy the votes of people who came and voted because of these silver pieces,\u201d she said, a reference to state media reports which said many of the alleged perpetrators had said they had been paid by Ukraine to cause problems.Pamfilova said police had detained all those who had so far tried to despoil ballot papers and they would be prosecuted.\u201cAnyone else who dares will be detained,\u201d she said.Investigators in Moscow said they had opened two criminal cases, including against the woman whom CCTV footage showed depositing her voting slip before calmly pouring a green liquid into the transparent plastic ballot box.A policeman is seen detaining her immediately afterwards.The woman, who was not named, was later charged with \u201cobstructing the exercise of electoral rights or the work of election committees,\u201d the Investigative Committee\u2019s press service said.Separately, news site Fontanka reported that a 21-year-old woman was arrested after a Molotov cocktail was hurled at a polling station in St Petersburg, Russia\u2019s second city and Putin\u2019s home town.Local media also reported attempts to set fire to voting booths in Moscow and in Siberia\u2019s Tyumen region.(Reuters)Ballot box vandalism.. vandalism, ballot boxes, presidential election<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Russia’s election chief announced that individuals who vandalize ballot boxes during the three-day presidential election will face up to five years in jail. This statement came after multiple incidents of such vandalism were reported across Russia on the first day of the election, which is expected to extend Vladimir Putin’s presidency by six more years. Ella Pamfilova, the electoral commission chair, highlighted these attacks would not affect the election outcome. A criminal case was opened against a woman who attempted to spoil ballots with green dye. Incidents of voting disruption occurred in Moscow, Karachayevo-Cherkessia, and Crimea. Pamfilova referenced Article 141 of the Criminal Code, which deals with obstructing electoral rights or commission work, stating such actions are punishable by up to five years in prison. She mentioned that some perpetrators claimed they were paid by Ukraine to cause disturbances. All individuals caught tampering with ballots have been detained and will face prosecution. In Moscow, investigators opened criminal cases, including against a woman shown on CCTV pouring green liquid into a ballot box. In St. Petersburg, a 21-year-old woman was arrested for throwing a Molotov cocktail at a polling station. Attempts to set fire to voting booths were also reported in Moscow and Tyumen region in Siberia.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":4448,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"Default","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[1340,1234,2236,209,3,2083,1600,153,118,487,2218,148,184,1021,1356,131,154,1812,19,300,1827,17,495,1357,1944,18],"class_list":["post-4447","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cyprus","tag-arrested","tag-attacks","tag-ballot-boxes","tag-box","tag-cyprus","tag-disruption","tag-election","tag-elections","tag-fire","tag-incidents","tag-investigators","tag-local","tag-police","tag-presidency","tag-presidential-election","tag-prison","tag-putin","tag-rights","tag-russia","tag-siberia","tag-statement","tag-ukraine","tag-vandalism","tag-vladimir-putin","tag-woman","tag-world"],"acf":{"keyphrase":"","keywords":"","sourceimg":"","country-category":""},"yoast_head":"\n