The system of webcasts from polling stations during Sunday’s presidential elections in Russia was launched successfully on Sunday, the Communications Ministry reported.
“The system’s launch took place in a normal mode. There were no failures,” the ministry said.
On an order from Russian Prime Minister and presidential candidate Vladimir Putin, web cameras have been installed at 91,000 of Russia's 96,000 polling stations in order to guarantee transparency for the vote.
The webcam installation campaign followed claims by critics that the December 4 parliamentary elections in Russia were marred by vote rigging. The authorities admitted that minor violations occurred but said they did not affect the result.
First webcasts from polling places in Russia’s Far East started at midnight Saturday/Sunday Moscow time (20:00 GMT Saturday), just when elections started there. They are available to users of the http://webvybory2012.ru website.
Five candidates - Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, Communist leader Gennady Zyuganov, nationalist Liberal Democratic Party head Vladimir Zhirinovsky, A Just Russia Party leader Sergei Mironov and the only independent, billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov - vie for the Russian presidency in the March 4 vote.
