The ongoing vote on constitutional amendments in Russia is exceptionally transparent and is being held with all the necessary measures taken to ensure safety amid the COVID-19 pandemic, city of Belgrade parliamentarian and international expert during the current vote Draginja Vlk told Sputnik
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 26th June, 2020) The ongoing vote on constitutional amendments in Russia is exceptionally transparent and is being held with all the necessary measures taken to ensure safety amid the COVID-19 pandemic, city of Belgrade parliamentarian and international expert during the current vote Draginja Vlk told Sputnik.
"From a technical standpoint, everything is organized as transparently as possible, including clear sealed ballot boxes, cameras at each site, as well as online broadcasts that public observers can watch," Vlk said.
The voting date was initially set for April 22 but was scrapped due to the coronavirus outbreak. Although the official day of voting was set for July 1, the period was specifically prolonged to minimize the congregation of crowds in any one location to minimize the spread of the coronavirus. The Russians started casting early ballots on June 25.
"Voting lasts a week, so, people have an opportunity not to crowd at the polls. The load on the polls is evenly distributed throughout the week. It is still difficult to judge the turnout - now it is only the second day, but we see that voters constantly come to the polls," Vlk said.
The voting is not only transparent but also safe amid the coronavirus pandemic.
"Safety is provided at a very good level. We went to several voting sites yesterday. They check the temperature everywhere, give out gloves and masks if a person comes without them. The lines have been drawn everywhere to maintain social distance," she explained.
According to Vlk, the observers have so far seen no violations despite a lot of groundless information attacks.
"We saw that there are some informational hoaxes about voting and its criticism. In fact, we do not find any violations; we did not find any confirmation of this criticism. Unfortunately, there is a lot of fake news about the vote; they really have no constructive criticism," Vlk said.
Vlk came to Russia to observe the vote along with two other colleagues from Serbia. She told Sputnik that some 100 international observers had arrived for the vote.
"My colleagues and I are very pleased that despite the pandemic, people have an opportunity to vote. The democratic processes are not stopped. And during this pandemic, life must go on," Vlk concluded.
In the meantime, Vlk recalled that Serbia held local, regional and parliamentary elections on June 21 and all safety standards were also observed.
"Like here, people's health was in the first place, so the security was at a high level. More than 51% of the people came out to vote and the party of Alexander Vučić - the Serbian Progressive Party - won with more than 63% of the vote," she said.
She also thanked the servicemen from the Russian Defense Ministry who arrived in Serbia to help the country's authorities battle the pandemic.
In spring, Russia sent several teams of medical doctors to Serbia, along with several planeloads of medical supplies, as well as protective equipment and other supplies, to help the country fight the coronavirus infection. Aside from the Serbian capital of Belgrade, the country's worst affected area, Russian aid teams were deployed to the cities of Nis, Kikinda, Valjevo and Cuprija.
