Ella Pamfilova called for an offensive – Newspaper Kommersant No. 141 (7342) of 08/05/2022

On Thursday, the chairwoman of the Central Election Commission, Ella Pamfilova, told the participants of the Politics shift of the Territory of Meanings forum about the challenges faced by the domestic electoral system in connection with the “undeclared war of the Anglo-Saxon collective degrading West.” Russia’s opponents have lurked for now, Ms Pamfilova said, but are preparing to undermine and discredit the 2024 presidential election. However, the listeners of the lecture were more interested in internal issues – for example, the transparency of remote electronic voting. The final question nevertheless touched on Western influence and contained a proposal to recognize some deputies as foreign agents, but the head of the Central Election Commission in response called for the ability to “separate the grain from the chaff” and persuade those “who are a little misunderstanding” to the right side.

Ella Pamfilova began her lecture on August 4 with a challenge that, in her opinion, is facing the Russian electoral system – an undeclared war “on the verge of a foul”, which is being waged “rudely, hysterically” by the entire “Anglo-Saxon collective degrading West”. “We feel, I would say, an increase in nervous tension. Despite the fact that our opponents abroad are not very visible now, they are hiding, very serious work is going on there in order to disrupt and discredit the big federal campaign. I think that this campaign (this year’s regional elections.— “b”) will get it, ”said the chairman of the Central Election Commission.

After the collapse of the USSR, “super professional organizations” began to appear in Russia, “feeding” at the expense of the West, whose goal was to notice “every speck” in Russian elections, keep the Russian electoral system “under the hood” and bring their politicians to parliament, acting “under the influence of puppeteers”, Mrs. Pamfilova conducted an excursion into history. The Central Election Commission had to work under pressure, the voters were driven into the head that the elections in Russia were not democratic, not free, and their results would “be sure to be drawn,” Ms. Pamfilova said. “We used to make excuses,” she added. “Now we have moved away from this: we expose them, and we attack.” For example, the head of the CEC decided to expose the UK: there, according to her, until recently it was possible to come to the polling station without a photo in an identity document.

The Russian electoral system, according to Ella Pamfilova, is “the most public of the state and the most state of the public,” because the composition of the commissions reflects a complete cross-section of Russian society: “This is your neighbor, your friend, brother, mom, dad, boss at work, or, on the contrary, subordinate. These are the commissions.

“Full cut” is nevertheless regularly criticized – for example, for transferring the broadcast of video surveillance of elections at polling stations from open access to a special closed portal. But in none of the Western countries there is video surveillance at all, since society regards this as an interference with private life, Ella Pamfilova explained to critics. “They don’t have them themselves, and those who live here and work for them threw a tantrum,” the chairman of the Central Election Commission was indignant. She immediately reminded peacefully that everyone who wants to observe the elections in Russia gets such an opportunity, but the training of observers is important, and not for anyone who wants to “lying on the couch, contemplating something senselessly.”

The listeners of the lecture seemed to be more interested in internal issues than in opposition to the collective West. Immediately, two participants of the shift asked about remote electronic voting (DEG). So, a young politician from the Communist Party of the Russian Federation asked Ms. Pamfilova how a voter can make sure that the declared blockchain technology is used during online voting, “and not some other.” At this time, several sheets of paper with large crossed-out letters “DEG” rose above the crowd of listeners. “Firstly, no one is forcing either the regions or a particular voter to vote remotely. There is freedom of choice,” explained the chairman of the CEC. The low level of trust in the DEG is due to a misunderstanding in the society of the technological process of voting, Ms. Pamfilova questioned the level of technical training of critics and suggested: in order to increase trust in the system, parties should select competent IT specialists for observation, so that they explain what is happening in an accessible language. Another listener asked if there are plans to introduce DEG in the Far Eastern Federal District. For this, Ella Pamfilova answered, the level of development of the “Gosuslugi” service, the availability of the Internet and the governor’s interest in “modernizing” the region are important.

The final question nevertheless touched upon the topic of foreign influence on the electoral processes in Russia: “Among the deputies there are those who were trained in various universities that are supervised by the US CIA, including abroad,” a forum participant named Valeria read from a piece of paper. Should we introduce the concept of “foreign agent” in relation to such people, especially deputies, and publish information about them in open sources, marking them as foreign agents or as having been trained in the relevant educational institutions?” Ms. Pamfilova replied that she was “against unjustified repressions” and urged to approach the issue wisely, without shoveling everyone “one size fits all”. According to Ms. Pamfilova, law enforcement agencies should deal with those who harm deliberately. But those who are simply mistaken or misunderstand something need to be persuaded, the head of the Central Election Commission says: “But just like that, now we’ll make another half of the country foreign agents, and what’s the point? This is a delicate, lengthy, very patient work. It is necessary to separate the wheat from the chaff: the convinced enemy must receive what he must receive, the doubters must be convinced and won over to their side.

Elena Rozhkova