Kommersant’s radio features an analysis of this week’s Austrian presidential elections where foreign news editor Maksim Yusin notes that “Moscow believes that the results of the elections were rigged”.
Disturbing trends towards conspiracy theories
He finds the comments of pro-Kremlin media on the election outcome a sign of disturbing trends towards conspiracy theories, “the disbelief that democratic processes can be just” and that “an election can proceed without falsification”.
An unnamed political analyst close to the Kremlin is quoted: “I think the election was rigged through the postal vote.”
“They rarely come to Moscow and it’s a shame”
The report goes on to explain that voters were split along the lines of an urban/rural divide and that postal voting is more prevalent among urban residents.
The author dismisses the speculations about vote-rigging as “nonsense” since the losing candidate Norbert Hofer accepted his defeat and didn’t doubt the election results.
“How naive these Austrian nationalists are,” he concludes, “they rarely come to Moscow and it’s a shame. There they could find out what is happening in their country and how voting ballots are really counted.”