Russia cries foul over Scottish independence vote

[geardaddy]

http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2014/sep/19/russia-calls-foul-scottish-referendum?CMP=twt_gu

Russian observers say referendum count took place in rooms that were too big and did not meet international standards

Russia has said the conduct of the Scottish referendum "did not meet international standards", with its observers complaining the count took place in rooms that were too big and that the procedure was badly flawed.

In an apparent attempt to mirror persistent western criticism of Russia's own elections, Igor Borisov – an accredited observer – said the poll failed to meet basic international norms.

Borisov and three other Russians arrived in Edinburgh on Wednesday evening, the state news agency Ria Novosti reported. The team from Moscow's Public Institute of Suffrage watched voting take place in the Scottish capital and the surrounding area. It also met with Scottish politicians, voters and representatives from non-governmental organisations, Ria said.

Borisov said he was unimpressed by what he saw. He said the room where he watched the count on Thursday night was a cavernous "aircraft hangar" next to an airfield. It was difficult to see what was going on, he said, adding: "The hangar is approximately 100m by 300m. There are tables, with voting papers stacked upon them, but the observers are stuck around the perimeter. Even if you want to, it's impossible to tell what's happening. It's also unclear where the boxes with ballot papers come from."

Borisov said the US state department, the UK and other western countries loudly hectored the Kremlin about Russia's supposed democratic deficiencies. But in this instance, he said, London and Edinburgh had not "fully met" the requirements of a proper referendum.

More at link.

Does Russia have a leg to stand on?

[SidDithers]

1. Can't wait for the pootlickers to post the RT spin on the Scottish vote...nt

Sid

[geardaddy]

12. Yep.

It seem a dubious claim.

I'm not happy with the result, but I believe it was a fair election.

[IdaBriggs]

21. LOVE the sig line. nt

[Blue_Tires]

28. +1

[Richardo]

2. Hey no more posting from The Onion...

Wait a second....

[geardaddy]

4. ...

[TwilightGardener]

9. My first thought, too.

[stevenleser]

10. I was convinced it was Onion or Borowitz nt

[CrispyQ]

3. Where were the Russians in 2000? --nt

[geardaddy]

6. Exactly.

[NuclearDem]

5. Damn it Vlad, you owe me a new cup of coffee.

....on second thought, nevermind.

[stevenleser]

11. Yeah, you don't want to drink anything he would give you. Look what happened...

to this guy http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poisoning_of_Alexander_Litvinenko

[snooper2]

7. Is Russia like the middle child wanting attention at this point? Does Pootie need a hug?

[greatauntoftriplets]

8. I don't know if they have a leg to stand on...

because I'm laughing too hard. The room was too big!

[Bosonic]

13. Any result that isn't 97% Yes is very suspicious

Russia continues its 2014 International Trolling Tour.

Next stop Lithuania

[Scootaloo]

27. Well, to be fair, Russia DID invent trolling

[Historic NY]

14. I guess Poots wanted to do the counting...

[William769]

15. At least the count didn't take place with guns to their heads. Thats what Russia is upset about. nt

[geek tragedy]

16. The absence of Russian troops clearly invalidates

the result.

Does Scotland have any Russian speakers?

[Denzil_DC]

17. LOL

I think that classes as "nice try, no cigar." I also think Putin et al. were wetting themselves at the prospect of independence.

There are gripes about the conduct of the campaign, but nobody on any side in Scotland is seriously suggesting the vote was fixed. Believe me, the sorts of seasoned poll staff the various parties put up to oversee the count have eagle eyes and are nobody's fool.

[geardaddy]

18. Yeah.

It's like Russia is calling the kettle black.

[pennylane100]

19. Is he referring to the strict adherence international standards

that were used when Crimea voted to leave Ukraine and join Russia.

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

20. .

.

[geardaddy]

22. +1

[Cali_Democrat]

23. hahahahaha. nt

[LeftishBrit]

24. Russia needs to worry about its own democratic shortfalls before it worries about Scotland.

As for the Scottish vote, if there were major problems with the vote counting, the SNP and Yes campaign would certainly be pointing it out before Borisov did.

The Scots have made their own decision. It was really a choice as to what was likely to be the lesser of the evils for Scotland; neither outcome was going to be a magic wand.

Deciding by referendum - whichever way it went - is considerably better than deciding by invasion!

And no, I don't think our government is good, and I constantly moan about it on the UK forum; but it's better than the Putin government.

[geardaddy]

25. Agreed.

I think the Russian cries of "unfair" are hilarious.

[MisterP]

26. Russia wants even *more* autonomous republics? you got a Scots ASSR, a Venetian ASSR,

a Catalan ASSR, a Walloon ASSR ...

[Turbineguy]

29. Andy Borowitz

writing under the pen name Luke Harding?

[pkdu]

30. On "Talk like a Pirate Day"...it doesnt even have one of these..

[link:|

[samsingh]

31. is this satire?

[2banon]

32. Vote Rigging Exposed by Independent Observers