The Autonomous Circle of Nenets in the northwest of the Giant Empire is the only region in Russia to reject the constitutional change initiated by President Vladimir Putin. There, in the referendum, around 55.3 percent of the voters voted against the new constitution, which Putin cleared the way for further terms until 2036.
The Russian election commission announced on Thursday that 43.8 percent of the voters would have voted yes. The Nenets are an indigenous people with more than 40,000 people in northwest Siberia.
In all other parts of the country there was widespread approval for the historical constitutional change, in some cases almost 100 percent, such as in the Chechen partial republic in the North Caucasus, where almost 98 percent of the voters are said to have voted for Putin’s constitution.
No comment
“We do not comment on the results of the vote, we only determine them,” said election manager Ella Pamfilowa. With regard to the rejection in the circle of Nenets, she said: “The results testify to the veracity of the counting process.” Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskow told the state agency TASS that there must be regional reasons for the majority no.
Nationwide, 77.9 percent of voters voted for the new constitution. No voted 21.27 percent. The turnout was given as 67.97 percent. According to this, a total of 57.7 million people voted for the constitutional amendment. This corresponded to a share of 52.95 percent in the electorate.
The Russian capital was below this average. According to the election commission, approval in Moscow reached around 65.3 percent and rejection around 34 percent. The turnout in the capital was given around 55 percent.
23 million voted
Outside the usual polling stations, more than 23 million people voted, according to official figures. That was about 30 percent of the voters, it said. Voting was also carried out outdoors, for example on courtyards and park benches or even in the trunk of cars. Election director Pamfilowa rejected allegations that there had been violations of the right to vote. Independent observers listed hundreds of such offenses. (apa, dpa)
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