Independent Russian vote monitor says election was a mockery

Men sit near a TV broadcasting news on the results of Russian presidential candidate and incumbent President Vladimir Putin, on the final day of the presidential election in Moscow, Russia, March 17, 2024. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov

LONDON (Reuters) - An independent Russian vote monitoring group said on Monday that the presidential election that Vladimir Putin won in a landslide with nearly 90% of the vote was the most fraudulent and corrupt in the country's history.

Golos (Voice) said the three-day election that ended on Sunday could not be considered genuine because "the campaign took place in a situation where the fundamental articles of the Russian Constitution, guaranteeing political rights and freedoms, were essentially not in effect".