Official Statement on the Legitimacy of the Elections
The Chairperson of the Central Election Commission, Ella Pamfilova, confirmed that at this time there are no grounds to cancel the results of the elections held in Russia. According to her, although some violations were identified, none of them affected the outcome of the voting.
The vote counting is ongoing, and the CEC plans to announce the final results no earlier than September 25, 2026. This statement has become key amid public scrutiny concerning the transparency of the elections.
Identified Violations and Their Scale
Out of five reports of serious violations received by the CEC, three were confirmed. These incidents were detected at more than 90,000 polling stations across the country, which is a small fraction of the total 120,000 stations.
The violations included ballot stuffing, invalidation of ballots, and breaches of seals on portable voting boxes. All these facts were promptly recorded and investigated.
Specific Cases in the Regions
In the Republic of Mari El, the fact of several ballot stuffing incidents was confirmed, after which the chairperson and deputy chairperson of the precinct election commission were suspended from their duties. This decision was made to maintain trust in the procedure.
In Yakutia, 199 ballots were declared invalid after the safe packet was opened, and in the Oryol region, 250 ballots from a portable ballot box were invalidated due to a seal violation. All these measures aim to ensure the integrity of the vote counting.
Infrastructure Protection and Information Security
The Central Election Commission reported over 1,000 hacking attempts on election infrastructure during the voting period. However, according to Ella Pamfilova, none of these attacks were successful or affected the voting process.
These data demonstrate a high level of cybersecurity maintained during the 2026 election campaign, which is crucial for voter confidence and the stability of the electoral system.
Response from Public Institutions and Next Steps
The Chair of the Human Rights Council, Valery Fadeev, noted the minimal number of violations and confirmed that the identified incidents do not call into question the legitimacy of the elections. This supports the CEC’s position on the transparency of the electoral campaign.
After the vote counting is complete, the election results will be officially announced no earlier than September 25, 2026, ensuring completeness and accuracy of the outcomes.
Conclusion: Despite isolated violations, the election results in Russia are recognized as legitimate and transparent.