"If You Can't Bring 3 People to the Polling Station, You're Fired" Russia Orders Civil Servants 'Presidential Election Quota System'

Checking Attendance with COVID QR Code
Employees Fired if Assigned Voters Don't Come to Polling Stations
Putin Emphasizes "80% Voter Turnout and Approval Rating"

[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

The Russian government is reportedly causing controversy by instructing civil servants to bring three or more family members and relatives to the polling stations ahead of the presidential election scheduled for the 15th. Russian President Vladimir Putin, who is running for his fifth term, has set a voter turnout target of over 80% for this election, and it is interpreted that the government and the ruling party have implemented a quota system to increase voter turnout. If the quota is not met, there are concerns about illegal election mobilization as civil servants may face disadvantages in personnel evaluations or even dismissal notices.

"Civil servants must bring at least 3 people, public enterprise employees at least 2 people without exception"

On the 3rd (local time), a poster of a Russian presidential candidate displayed in Murmansk, Russia. [Image source=TASS·Yonhap News]

On the 5th (local time), Russian independent media Meduza cited sources saying, "The Russian government has instructed that each civil servant bring three people and each public enterprise employee bring two people to the polling stations under a quota system," adding, "All civil servants are required to submit a list of the people they will bring to vote, and if they fail to bring them, they may face disadvantages in personnel evaluations or dismissal."

Meduza reported that on the presidential election day on the 15th of this month, Russian civil servants and public enterprise employees must bring the people assigned to them to the polling stations and prove their presence with QR codes.

For members of the ruling United Russia party, the quota is as high as 10 people per member. Meduza pointed out, "Most civil servant executives, school principals, and public enterprise managers are mandatorily members of the United Russia party," adding, "Especially, managerial civil servants in small towns bear the burden of bringing all the townspeople to the polling stations."

The reason the Russian government is implementing such a quota system is to maximize voter turnout. Meduza explained, "President Putin has instructed the government and the ruling party to achieve a voter turnout of 70-80% and a support rate of over 80%," adding, "Since the presidential victory is already a foregone conclusion, they desire a high turnout." In the 2018 presidential election, Russia recorded a voter turnout of 67.54%.

Within Russia, an atmosphere has already spread that takes President Putin's victory for granted, and with opposition leader Alexei Navalny recently dying under suspicious circumstances, there is a growing movement to avoid voting.

Russian household deposits surge 18% ahead of election... Criticism of "vote-buying"

[Image source=AFP Yonhap News]

Criticism has also been raised that the Russian government is distributing cash to boost President Putin’s approval ratings. Compensation payments for soldiers who participated in the Ukraine war, which had been delayed, are being paid out ahead of the election, effectively amounting to vote-buying.

Earlier, the Russian Central Bank announced that as of December last year, the amount of household bank deposits in Russia surged 18% compared to the previous year. In some regions, deposits increased unusually by as much as 45%, attracting international attention. The Russian Central Bank explained this by saying, "It is due to increased economic activity and real wages," but criticism poured in that this explanation does not add up since the regions with the largest deposit increases are very poor areas in Central Asia and Siberia.

The Bank of Finland Institute for Emerging Economies (BOFIT) analyzed in a report at the end of last month that "The regions with surging deposits are notably poor areas in Russia, and this is presumed to be due to wages and compensation received by soldiers who participated in the war, not due to economic activity or real wage increases," adding, "Russia is facing a severe labor shortage and industrial development is slowing, so the increase in deposits is likely caused by income from participation in the war."

Voting forced even in occupied Ukrainian territories... "Interference in Ukraine’s presidential election"

A poster for the Russian presidential election displayed in Luhansk Oblast, Ukraine, currently occupied by Russia.
[Image source: TASS·Yonhap News]

Another controversy surrounding the Russian presidential election is that it is being forcibly held even in Ukrainian territories currently occupied by Russian forces. The idea is to forcibly grant Russian nationality to residents of the occupied areas and have them vote in the presidential election, thereby making them Russian citizens under international law. Ukraine, which is also preparing for its presidential election in March, is concerned that a significant number of its voters will be taken away by Russia.

According to Ukraine’s state news agency Ukrinform, Ukraine’s presidential election is scheduled for the 31st of this month, but Russian forces are forcibly issuing citizenship to residents of the occupied territories and compelling them to participate in the election. Ukrinform pointed out that Russia scheduled its election for March 15-17 to precede Ukraine’s election.

Previously, Russia caused controversy by providing food and medical services only to residents of the occupied Ukrainian territories who had been granted Russian citizenship. On the 25th of last month (local time), a Ukrainian refugee named Larisa testified to the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), saying, "Without a Russian passport, pensions are not paid, food is not provided, and medical services cannot be used," drawing criticism from the international community for violating humanitarian principles.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.