Independent Russian vote monitor says election was a mockery

An independent Russian vote monitoring group said on Monday that the presidential election that Vladimir Putin won in a landslide with nearly 90% of the vote was the most fraudulent and corrupt in the country's history. Golos (Voice) said the three-day election that ended on Sunday could not be considered genuine because "the campaign took place in a situation where the fundamental articles of the Russian Constitution, guaranteeing political rights and freedoms, were essentially not in effect". "Never before have we seen a presidential campaign that fell so far short of constitutional standards," the group said in a statement.