MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Gorbachov blasts Russian electoral system as a “joke”

The last president of the Soviet Union, Mijail Gorbachov

Mijail Gorbachov, the last Soviet president launched on Monday the strongest attack yet on Russian democracy saying that elections are a “joke” and the whole system is flawed.

Gorvachov’s statements follow the overwhelming victory of Prime Minister Vladimir Putin’s United Russia party in regional and municipal elections last October 11, which was bombarded with claims of fraud and three opposition parties abandoning Parliament.

“To the eyes of the world, elections have become a mockery for the people and the people have great mistrust as to how their votes are being uses”, said Gorbachov in a long interview with the opposition Nova Gazeta, of which he is also a shareholder.

According to the former Soviet Union president the fact that three political parties more or less linked to the Kremlin, the Communist Party, the Liberal Democrats and Fair Russia, have walked out of parliament to denounce frauds is evidence that “trust in the elections has evaporated”.

“The electoral system has been completely mutilated. We need an alternative. The press and other community groups must take the initiative of pushing for new electoral legislation”, insisted Gorbachov.

“Having a hold of the Duma (Russian congress) is useless, is nonsense” said the former president in a direct criticism to the submissive Russian legislative.