The Fair Observer project became a sensation during the elections in Yakutsk
The federal project “Fair Observer”, presented in Moscow, is being implemented in pilot mode in Yakutsk, where elections for the mayor are being held.
During two days of voting through a mobile application available on Google Play and the App Store, activists documented shortcomings in the work of election commissions. As a result of their analysis, 68 complaints were written, half of which were eliminated immediately, and the rest were minor.
The main topic of the day was the video recording of the capture of a group of “carousel workers” at one of the polling stations, which is already being actively discussed in Telegram и social networks.
The author of the video reports that we are talking about precinct No. 709, which is located in the building of the National Library on Lenin Avenue, 40. From the title of the video it follows that the violators were identified by youth from the “Fair Observer” project. For clarification, journalists turned to project manager Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.
At first, Anastasia expressed slight bewilderment as to what kind of video the reporters were asking her about, but then she realized what was happening and said the following:
“You were shown a fragment of a video from observer training. The fact is that by the time of the official presentation of the “Fair Observer”, the guys had already been enthusiastically training for several weeks, and above all, preparing for the elections of the Mayor of Yakutsk. Our goal was to bring observers to the polling stations fully included in the agenda, ready for any turn of events. To do this, we conducted training as close to real as possible: the guys, with the help of instructors, played out all potential situations, creatively identified loopholes for violations, learned to act in conflict situations, not to get lost in an unfamiliar environment, and withstand psychological pressure. After the practical sessions, we discussed the results, shared our impressions in the classroom, and analyzed the video recording of the situation. You understand, it was important to evaluate both how our guys behave and how well they record what is happening on video.
That video recording for which you called was made back on March 24 at the final practical lesson in Yakutsk, right at the entrance to the polling station. As far as I know, our guys posted it publicly and designated it as a training session. The question arises as to why it was found and interpreted somehow differently right now. Most likely, this is either some kind of political games of the candidates, or some video blogger decided, as they say, to hype it up.
In practice, thanks to the fact that the guys from the “Fair Observer” came to the PECs sufficiently prepared, the possibility of carrying out frauds similar to those shown in the video was practically reduced to zero. The guys perform their tasks with dignity and professionalism.”
In conclusion, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova advised: “To be aware of real and not fake election violations, join our team and come as observers to polling stations.”
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