“Data scientists and independent election observers have claimed statistical analysis suggests there was massive falsification of votes in a referendum this week that overwhelming approved constitutional changes to grant Russian President Vladimir Putin the right to extend his rule until 2036” ABC News reports.
“The week-long referendum on a package of constitutional amendments that ‘reset’ Putin’s term limits concluded in Russia on Wednesday with a result hailed by the Kremlin as a ‘triumph.’ The official tally showed 77.92% of voters backing the amendments and 21.27% against, with a turnout of 65%.”
“Those numbers are significantly above what most independent political observers and pollsters said would be realistic to expect. The Kremlin’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, a day later declared it a ‘triumphant referendum on confidence’ in Putin.”
“But independent election observers and opposition figures have said the size of the result actually was the product of unprecedented fraud made possible because the vote was deliberately held without the legal safeguards typically applied to voting in Russia.”