STATE AUTOMATED SYSTEM "ELECTIONS" WILL COUNT DEPUTIES OF STATE DUMA-2003
Izvestia, May 7, 2003, p. 3 EV
Telecommunications and Information Minister Leonid Reiman stated on Monday that the Vybory automated vote-counting system is secure and will be used during the parliamentary elections in December.
Reyman stressed in his interview with Echo of Moscow radio: “The Vybory system was developed as a highly impenetrable system from the very beginning. It has been demonstrated that the information disseminated via this system is reliable, and that any interference with the system is almost impossible. At present, there are no grounds to suppose that any problems may occur in future.”
RUSSIA CONCERNED ABOUT "ANARCHY" IN IRAQ
Izvestia, May 7, 2003, p. 3
Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov stated during a visit to Sweden that the decision to lift sanctions against Iraq should be reached on the basis of the conclusions of independent experts. Ivanov emphasized: “Russia isn’t opposed to lifting sanctions. We were calling for that to be don for ten years, and understand that it can be done only if the matter of whether Iraq possesses weapons of mass destruction is clarified. There is anarchy in Iraq at present, and we’d like to know when it will end. There are some differences on the strategy and tactics of post-war settlement of the situation. However, it is obvious that this problem must be resolved.” According to Ivanov, this issues should be discussed by the UN in the near future.
CENTRAL ELECTORAL COMMISSION TO CHANGE ELECTORAL DISTRICT PLAN
Izvestia, May 7, 2003, p. 3
Yesterday the Central Electoral Commission (CEC) discussed a proposal to change the scheme of division of single-mandate districts. According to the CEC head Alexander Veshnyakov, the Murmansk and Irkutsk regions may lose one district each, while the Krasnodar Territory and Dagestan may gain one district. The CEC considers that the districts in every region should be equal in terms of the number of voters. According to the CEC, the population is increasing in Krasnodar and Dagestan, but declining in Irkutsk and Murmansk. If the Duma votes against a new scheme in early summer, the CEC will claim the right to approve it.