Observers note desire of Chechen authorities to increase voter turnout

The Chechen Central Election Commission (CEC) has staged a flashmob on the Instagram aimed to attract voters to the polls; on the voting day, a series of entertainment events is scheduled in the republic. The voter turnout is treated by the authorities as an indicator of the support of the ruling course, observers say.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on September 18, on the single day of voting, Chechnya will hold the election of the leader of the republic and the elections of deputies of the State Duma and of the Parliament of the republic.

In order to attract voters to the upcoming elections, the Chechen CEC has launched flashmob on the Instagram social network with the hashtag #I'llgotothepolls, a CEC source told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

Top managers of republic's agencies have ordered their employees to join the action, an employee of one of them named Seda told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

According to Zarema, an employee of the Chechen Ministry of Culture, the authorities are making great efforts to ensure the maximum voter turnout as possible.

"They have engaged the clergy, the elders, and whoever else they could. As far as I know, concerts and performances, a variety of competitions and so on, will be held tomorrow at polling stations," she told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

Observers have also noted the concern of the republic's authorities over the voter turnout.

"Those in power are actively working towards the increase of the voter turnout. Everywhere they hold citizens' gatherings, sittings, meetings and various actions aimed at drawing attention to the upcoming elections. The leaders are highly concerned about the voter turnout. They view it as a sort of indication that the population is strongly supporting the leadership and the course pursued thereby. All the rest doesn't matter, because the CEC will 'draw' the required figures," said the head of one of republic's non-governmental organizations.

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.