Official data on voter turnout in KBR mismatch observers' estimates

More than half of the electorate have taken part in the voting, the Central Election Commission (CEC) of the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic (KBR) has reported. However, in Nalchik, observers claimed a low voter turnout at their polling stations.

On September 18, the second voting day, observers from all three polling stations visited by the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent noted a low voter turnout. Thus, as of 10:00 a.m., according to observers, at polling station No. 131, only 21 people had voted.

At polling station No. 119, the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent found the only voter. A member of the local election commission confirmed a low voter turnout. "Perhaps this is because today is a day off; and people go to the fair in the morning, and only then they will come to the polls," he has suggested.

Khakim Kuchmezov, the head of the regional branch of the "Yabloko" Party, also stated that the voter turnout was still low. "According to observations of my people at two polling stations, in the morning, the turnout averaged 20 people per hour. A total of 380 people had voted in two days," Khakim told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

However, according to the CEC of the KBR, by 3:00 p.m. on September 18, a total of 273,206 people had voted, which makes 50.71% of the total electorate, the RIA "Novosti" has reported.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on September 18, 2021 at 09:35 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.