The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mélanie Joly, expressed concern on Monday about the holding of “rigged presidential elections” in Russia, where President Vladimir Putin was re-elected without difficulty.
After the count concluded, electoral authorities in Russia announced that Mr. Putin had received a record number of votes, allowing him to obtain a fifth term at the head of the country.
Following this victory, the Russian president promised to continue his offensive in Ukraine and dangled new threats against the West.
In a press release released Monday morning, Minister Joly said she was concerned about “irregularities” in the electoral process in Russia.
She judges that the process was “undemocratic” and “non-compliant with international standards”.
Among the “irregularities”, the minister underlines that the nomination procedure was “partial and exclusionary”, in favor of Vladimir Putin. She also notes “the extremely unbalanced media coverage”.
“The system was designed to benefit the chosen candidate and deprive voters of a real choice well before the start of the vote,” she argued in a press release.
She also once again denounces Vladimir Putin’s offensive in Ukraine.
“If he can celebrate today, history will judge Mr. Putin harshly for his authoritarianism, his war and his illegal attempt to annex the territory of a neighboring country,” she concluded.
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