International monitors slam Russian election as 'overly controlled'

Sunday's landslide election that handed victory to Russian President Vladimir Putin was "overly controlled" and "lacked genuine competition," international election monitors said Monday.

Michael Georg Link from the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), which sent a team of observers to Russia for the vote, said election day was conducted professionally and in an orderly manner, but that the vote was held on an "uneven playing field."

"Most candidates publicly expressed their certainty that the incumbent President would prevail in the election," Link said Monday at a news conference in Moscow.

He said that although a significant number of people turned out to vote, restrictions on their fundamental freedoms "have limited the space for political engagement and resulted in a lack of genuine political competition."

"A choice without a real competition, as we have seen in this election, unfortunately is not a real choice," he said.

With nearly all the votes now counted, Putin has won 76.7% of the vote, giving him the mandate to rule Russia until 2024. The Communist Party's Pavel Grudinin came in at a distant second with 11.8%.

Putin's critics have slammed the election as unfair, citing the Kremlin's tight control over the media, quelling of the opposition and restrictions on some election monitors to ensure a free vote.

His most vocal political opponent, Alexei Navalny, was barred from running in the election because of an embezzlement conviction that he says was designed to keep him off the ballot. Navalny had called for a boycott of what he described as a sham vote.

"A great many people in this country are willing to stand against the authorities. They need a proper opposition," Navalny said Sunday.

The independent Golos Association, an election watchdog, said Monday that there had been irregularities with the presidential vote "not only on voting days but throughout the campaign."

On Sunday evening the group announced 2,000 irregularities.

"Unfortunately, we have to note that not all candidates behaved honestly in line with international standards," said a Golos spokesman, without naming specific candidates.

The elections "were to some extent unfair and undemocratic," he said.

(CNN)