Lawyers assess chances of legally punishing election commission employee in Gelendjik

The law provides for up to four years in prison for electoral frauds, but the female employee of the election commission in Gelendjik, who had hid the completed ballots, is unlikely to be punished, the lawyers interviewed by the "Caucasian Knot" have pointed out.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on September 10, the Krasnodar territorial branch of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation (CPRF) reported that at the polling station in Gelendjik, the deputy chairman of the commission hid ballot papers already filled out for one of the parties under her on a chair. She has been suspended from work, and the ballots found will not be taken into account, the head of the Territorial Election Commission (TEC) has assured.

Mikhail Benyash, a Krasnodar lawyer, has noted that the above employee of the precinct election commission (PEC), who had hid the ballots, could go to jail in the event of an objective investigation. "If her guilt is proved in court, she faces up to four years in prison, provided the case is objectively investigated," the lawyer has stressed.

However, he doubts that an objective investigation is possible. "I think they will find a way to drop the case at some point," he said.

David Kankiya, the coordinator of the movement "Golos" (Vote)*, is also sure that the judiciary will try to acquit the above employee. "In most cases, when the case, despite all the obstacles, reaches the court, falsifiers are either acquitted or punished symbolically. The electoral and judicial systems are doing everything to protect their ordinary members from deserved punishment," Mr Kankiya told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

*The movement has been put by the Russian Ministry of Justice into the list of unregistered public associations performing the functions of a foreign agent.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on September 12, 2022 at 08:05 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.