Central Election Commission head Vladimir Churov penned an 82-page document to answer questions posed by the four State Duma factions regarding irregularities in the December parliamentary vote.
The document was completed over the course of a month and was addressed to the speaker of the lower house of parliament Sergei Naryshkin, Izvestia reported.
In answer to a set of 37 questions about why the election commission is composed largely of representatives of the ruling party, Churov simply answered that the body's composition is "balanced." He also wrote that if there is any doubt in the commission's decisions, one can always turn to the courts.
Regarding allegations that observers were removed from voting sites without sufficient grounds, Churov wrote that "collecting evidence about the [removal of observers] does not fall under the responsibilities of the election commission."
In answer to a question put forth by the Liberal Democratic Party regarding the European Parliament's doubts about the election's legitimacy, Churov replied that "...official representatives of the European Parliament were not accredited for the last election by the Central Elections Commission, and therefore do not have the right to publish conclusions about the results of election observations."
The document was completed over the course of a month and was addressed to the speaker of the lower house of parliament Sergei Naryshkin, Izvestia reported.
In answer to a set of 37 questions about why the election commission is composed largely of representatives of the ruling party, Churov simply answered that the body's composition is "balanced." He also wrote that if there is any doubt in the commission's decisions, one can always turn to the courts.
Regarding allegations that observers were removed from voting sites without sufficient grounds, Churov wrote that "collecting evidence about the [removal of observers] does not fall under the responsibilities of the election commission."
In answer to a question put forth by the Liberal Democratic Party regarding the European Parliament's doubts about the election's legitimacy, Churov replied that "...official representatives of the European Parliament were not accredited for the last election by the Central Elections Commission, and therefore do not have the right to publish conclusions about the results of election observations."
