election fraud

Pro-Kremlin election observer rants about “merry-go-round” fraud

Sophie Team Observers — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 16:17:29 +0200

Allegations of election fraud in Russia are not uncommon. But they usually come from the opposition. This video, of a slightly irate, somewhat drunk, pro-Kremlin election observer in Moscow, has become one of the most talked about subjects in the Russian blogosphere, after he disclosed the ruling party's "secrets" of fraud.

Sunday's vote in the capital (October 11) secured pro-Kremlin 73-year-old Yuri Luzhkov, Moscow Mayor since 1992, another four years in office. A powerful member of ruling party United Russia, his 66% win will give both him and the Kremlin more clout in future. Luzhkov is commonly blamed for much of the city's corruption, but remains relatively popular with the general public. There are however many within, and in support of the party, who would like to see him gotten rid of. The following United Russia supporter is no doubt one of them. When he was approached by an opposition election observer on Sunday, he had no qualms about describing how the "merry-go-round" fraud system is operated.

Amateur video footage of election-rigging

Team Observers — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 14:35:19 +0200

One of our Observers alerted us to three videos published on the Internet, which show men stuffing ballot boxes with fake ballots during the Afghan election.

The videos were posted on Youtube by a user who goes by the name of "littlebird2010". They were recovered and made public by the campaign staff of Hamid Karzaï’s main political opponent, Abdullah Abdullah. Oddly enough, the people stuffing the boxes appear to know they are being filmed on two of the three videos. Contacted by FRANCE 24, an Abdullah aide explained that the videos were sent to them by “young supporters”. According to him, they were filmed by Afghans who pretended to go along with the fraud, which explains why they could film so closely. A member of the UN-backed Electoral Complaints Committee (ECC) confirmed that Abdullah Abdullah sent them the videos of the alleged Ghazni province fraud, adding that the commission had opened an investigation into their content.

Journalists and international observers present during the poll reported numerous irregularities and the ECC received over 2,000 complaints concerning alleged voter fraud. Preliminary results show outgoing president Hamid Karzai ahead with more than 50% of the vote. However, under Afghan law, final results cannot be officially announced until all the fraud complaints are examined. This could take more than a month, according to a US diplomat.

First images of torched French consulate

Team Observers — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 12:12:50 +0200

One of our Observers in Gabon sent us exclusive photos and video footage of the French consulate burning. It was torched yesterday in the city of Port-Gentil.

"Gabon first. No vote for foreigners"

Team Observers — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 11:38:06 +0200

One of our Observers in Gabon, Adriankoto Harinjaka Ratozamanana, sent us this photo, taken last week in the streets of Libreville. The photo is also posted here.

These T-shirts, which read "Gabon first" on the front and "Foreigners forbidden to vote" on the back, refer to persistent rumours that foreigners voted during the elections in Gabon. Ali Ben Bongo, election winner and son of the late president Omar Bongo, is said to have distributed voting cards to Liberians or Congolese immigrants who don’t even hold the Gabonese nationality."

Gabon elections – evidence of fraud?

Sophie Team Observers — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 16:57:05 +0200

This photo was sent to us by one of our Observers in Libreville. He says that the document appears to be a fake voting card used in the election on Sunday. There are already rumours of electoral fraud, but as yet, none has been backed up with proof.

Our Observer, Malagasy blogger Adriankoto Harinjaka Ratozamanana, was invited to Gabon by candidate Bruno Ben Moubamba, who asked him to observe the election and report any irregularities. He says that, of the cards featured in the image above, the one on the left is authentic, while the one on the right has been forged. The difference is quite clear - the one on the left has been stamped after the photo was attached, whereas the photo on the right was not stamped with the card, meaning that the photo can be changed - so that several people can vote with the same electoral card.

On this video, filmed by Adriankoto, we see passers-by discussing the authenticity of voting cards and how they are forged.

Even since the beginning of the campaign, candidate Bruno Ben Moubamba has been calling for "resistance" to what he says is a fraudulent election orchestrated by the government. He set up a group to oversee the election called "Gabon's Guardian Angels", which includes an initiative inviting voters to send their accounts of irregularities by SMS.

Please be aware that this post represents the experiences of our Observer, it is not proof of mass fraud.

Britney Spears to vote in Afghanistan

Sophie Team Observers — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 12:21:47 +0200

Afghanistan heads to the polls today. The event however, is likely to be tarnished by election fraud. To prove just how easy it is to buy a fake voting card, one Afghan thought it amusing to get one in the name of... Britney Spears.

Source: Afpax

Reuters reports that a voter registration card under the identification of American pop singer Britney Spears has been circulating by email for the past few weeks and has even been on display in a bar in Kabul. According to website Afpax, who broke the story in June, the document was bought by a Kandahar resident in order to demonstrate "how easy it is to buy a usable Afghan voter registration card with any name or photo you want".

The post goes on to explain that the card is entirely valid because it was created, like thousands of others, by an electoral services employee. The name on the card is "Jamila", which means "she's beautiful" in Pashto. These documents are mass produced and cost less than a euro in the major cities. This one in particular seems to prove that the anti-fraud systems in place are not very vigilant. In a country where almost all women are veiled, a white, blond and bare-skinned applicant should have raised a few eyebrows. Concerns over fake voting cards were raised again recently when in some provinces huge numbers of women signed themselves up to the electoral roll. Such a sudden and mass interest was perceived as suspicious in a country where the majority of women rarely show up to vote.

Iranians react to Khamenei's speech: “People here obey the rules”

Sophie Team Observers — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 18:10:52 +0200

In his first public address since the demonstrations began, Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Friday that the government will not surrender to the protesters. Two of our Observers, one a supporter and the other a critic of Ahmadinejad, give their opinions on the speech.

A few extracts from the speech:

"The result of the election comes from the ballot box, not from the street."

"Street challenge is not acceptable, this is challenging democracy after the elections."

"The legal structure in this country does not allow vote-rigging."

"If some people have doubts and evidence it should be dealt with through legal ways - only through legal ways. I will never accept illegal innovations."

"Arm-wrestling in the street must stop, I want everyone to put an end to this. If they don't stop this ... they will be held accountable for all of this."

"Enemies try through various media -- many of which belong to the Zionists -- to make people believe that there is a fight between supporters of the opposition and the Islamic establishment. They have no right to say that, that is not true."

Faulty voting machines pick the wrong candidate

Sophie Team Observers — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 12:36:58 +0100

Early voters for the presidential election have reported that when they tried to vote for one candidate, their touch screen machine selected another. Could these "faulty" machines decide who's the next US president?

After the vote counting fiasco in Florida in 2000, US polling stations were ordered to update their systems to avoid inaccuracies under the Help America Vote Act 2002. But six years and $3 billion dollars later, new touch screen machines, used in around a quarter of polling booths, are causing even more trouble than the old hole-punchers.

This year has seen record numbers of early voters, expected to amount to a third of the total electorate, who choose to make their decision before the 4 November deadline. But in West Virginia, where the booths opened on 23 October, voters have emerged from polling stations complaining that the machine didn't respond to the choice they made, but selected another. Whether the machines are being rigged; or defective technology is at fault, Americans are terrified that after eight months of decision making, their vote will go to the wrong candidate. Campaigners for democracy are spreading the message: check your screen to make sure you've voted for the right person.

Our Observer beaten up after exposing electoral fraud

Julien — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 12:07:46 +0200

A Russian election observer who exposed several instances of mass rigging following last December's Duma parliamentary poll has been assaulted outside his home in Moscow, just weeks before the start of the court case against the alleged election riggers. In hospital with cerebral concussion, it looks as though Grigori Belonuchkin might not be well enough testify in the case.

One of our Observers for Russia, Belonuchkin was knocked to the ground and kicked in the head repeatedly by two youths on Tuesday. The social activist, who is used to being called upon for advice, says that when he came out of his house to talk to the young enquirers, they immediately attacked him. Belonuchkin acted as an electoral monitor for the Russian Communist Party in several polling stations in the Moscow suburb of Dolgoprudny, though he is not himself a member of the party. Following the vote, he sent us photographic evidence of electoral fraud, which we published on Dec 5. However, despite strong proof of malpractice, the town's prosecutor's office refused to take up the case. Belonuchkin decided to initiate it himself, and was called to testify on the 15^th of this month - exactly two weeks from Tuesday.

So far, we haven't been able to get in touch with Grigori as he's still in hospital. We'll publish more on this story as soon as we have further information.

Would Zimbabwe really be better off without Mugabe?

Julien — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 14:00:02 +0200

The monster is cornered posted on Flickr by Sokwanele

In their fourth day of waiting for election results, frustrated voters are imagining what their lives might be like after 28 years of dictatorial rule.

Although the word on the street is that Mugabe is about to hand over his Mercedes to opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai, this is far from certain. Some say that the most likely outcome of the elections is a run-off in a few days' time, buying Mugabe's ZANU party some much-needed time. There are also worries about a deal being done behind closed doors- which would mean both parties are manipulating the electoral process. Nevertheless, our Observers are already imagining a life without the iron-fisted dictator.