PUTIN SAYS ELECTION GIVES DUMA MORE LEGITIMACY,

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 MOSCOW 005704 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV KDEM PREL PHUM RS SUBJECT: PUTIN SAYS ELECTION GIVES DUMA MORE LEGITIMACY, OTHERS COMMENT ON FOREIGN OBSERVERS -------------- SUMMARY -------------- ¶1. (U) One day after United Russia's decisive victory in parliamentary elections, Putin thanked voters for supporting United Russia and said that the elections would give the next Duma more legitimacy. He called the election results a sign of "trust" in United Russia and a "good indicator of Russia's internal stability." Meantime, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs posted a statement on its website that highlighted the positive assessments by some international observers, and called assessments by parliamentarians of the OSCE, the Council of Europe, and the Nordic Council, who also observed Sunday's elections, "haphazard." Duma International Affairs Committee Chairman Konstantin Kosachev and CEC Chairman Churov also commented on foreign observers, praising the Commonwealth of Independent States observation team and dismissing the joint statement of the OSCE and Council of Europe parliamentary groups. Churov said international observers will be invited to observe the March presidential elections, with GOR invitations specifying the number of observers expected. End summary. -------------- -------------- PUTIN THANKS VOTERS; SAYS DUMA WILL BE MORE LEGITIMATE -------------- -------------- ¶2. (U) At an appearance at an aerospace plant on the outskirts of Moscow December 3, Putin thanked voters for supporting United Russia, whose ticket he led, in the State Duma elections. Calling the 64 percent of the vote United Russia received a sign of "trust," he said the vote is a "reflection of voters' expectations" and that he hoped "United Russia would not fail us." He added that the vote is a "good indicator of Russia's internal stability." Putin said the election results increased the legitimacy of the Duma because 91 percent of votes cast were for parties that will be represented in the fifth Duma. In the 2003 elections, he noted, parties represented in the preceding Duma which finished its work on November 17, had received only 70 percent of total votes cast. (The rest had gone to parties that had not crossed the five percent threshold.) Putin flagged the increased representation of each of the four parties to cross the Duma threshold as a sign that Russia's strategy to strengthen political parties has succeeded. 
¶3. (U) In comments made during his December 3 morning meeting with government ministers, Putin said the new Duma should hold its first session before the end of December. Its first task will be to elect its speaker. He also argued for separating the timing of the Duma and presidential elections, saying people are tired of political campaigns and it would be better to ease into the presidential race, which officially began November 30. Putin suggested the new Duma take up this issue. Under current law, the presidential campaign takes place directly following the State Duma elections. -------------- FOREIGN MINISTRY HAS ITS SAY -------------- ¶4. (U) In a statement posted on the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA),the positive assessments by observers from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) were highlighted and the assessments made by parliamentary observers of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly (OSCE PA) and Council of Europe (PACE) were treated skeptically. The MFA took issue with the fact that OSCE PA and PACE held a press conference to announce their assessment of the elections before they were able to consult with all of their observers and that their assessment was made only to the media, not to the CEC or political parties. The MFA statement called some of the OSCE PA and PACE assessments "haphazard." The statement went on to say that the "State Duma elections showed that Russian leadership's present policy is supported by the majority of the Russian population." The statement questioned the motivations of those observers who found fault with Russian law, which established a seven percent threshold for parties to enter the Duma, and criticized Russian officials for "merging state and political parties." The MFA statement noted the threshold is not outside electoral norms and in many western countries, "a government is formed by the majority political party." ¶5. (U) Duma International Affairs Committee Chairman Kosachev called international criticism of the elections "an MOSCOW 00005704 002 OF 002 instrument of political pressure on Russia." In a commentary in Rossiiskaya Gazeta he said the major result of the elections was that they "confirmed absolute majority support of the course taken over the last several years." Kosachev contended that there were no "facts" of violations during the elections. "As there are no facts, this wave will end soon," he wrote. -------------- CEC CHUROV STAGES POST-ELECTION SHOW -------------- ¶6. (U) At a December 4 press conference, Central Election Commission Chairman Churov provided the following unofficial results with 99.8 percent of votes counted from the December 2 Duma elections: United Russia -- 44,500,000 (64.24%) 315 seats Communist Party (KPRF) -- 8,000,000 (11.81%) 57 seats Liberal Democratic Party (LDPR) -- 5,643,000 (8.15%) 40 seats Just Russia -- 5,367,000 (7.75%) 38 seats He noted that United Russia, KPRF and LDPR each will have more seats than they had in the previous Duma. He said that official results will be announced as early as December 7. Churov attributed the results in Chechnya, where turnout was more than 99 percent, to a "heroic" electoral commission. ¶7. (SBU) Churov mocked the joint statement on December 3 by OSCE PA and PACE observers and touted aspects of the elections that observers from fellow CIS countries plan to emulate, such as having polling stations at airports and train stations. ¶8. (SBU) Churov decried the fact that no one "signed" the OSCE PA and PACE statement (NOTE: OSCE PA and PACE officials said their observers, along with Nordic Council observers, unanimously agreed with the statement released to the press December 3.) He took issue with the OSCE PA's and PACE's contention that the election took place in an "atmosphere which seriously limited political competition," guffawing over the use of the word "atmosphere." "What is meant by atmosphere?" Churov asked. "Do they mean the air in Moscow and St. Petersburg?" In response to a claim made by opposition candidate Boris Nemtsov that in one instance a thousand absentee ballots were stuffed into a ballot box, Churov enlisted the help of one of his aides to demonstrate the near impossibility of stuffing one thousand ballots into a ballot box with a narrow slit on top. When this obviously strong aide was unable to do so, Churov then asked him to insert the ballots one at a time, presumably to show the length of time it would take to insert a thousand ballots. While Churov railed against the OSCE/PACE/Nordic Council observer missions, the aide meticulously folded groups of ballots and slipped them into the ballot box. The task took about 15 minutes. ¶9. (U) Churov said the presidential elections will be run "even better." He said they would increase turnout by providing more information to voters and ensuring that more disabled persons can vote. International observers would be invited, he said, and added that the CEC will do things like they did for the Duma elections and invitations will include "the number of observers we'll expect." -------------- COMMENT -------------- ¶10. (SBU) The GOR has launched a full court press in response to international criticism of the Duma elections. By picking and choosing from post-election assessments, the GOR is touting the positive comments (technical improvements) while hitting back against the negative (the elections were not fair and did not meet international norms). Its latest talking point -- that the Duma will be more "legitimate" -- is part of an effort to show that whatever problems there may have been on December 2, the elections resulted in a stronger institution. Churov's comments confirm expectations that the GOR will set numerical limits on international observers to the March presidential campaign. BURNS