Two senior officials in Moscow's Novo-Peredelkino district were fired after video footage showed one of them apparently encouraging election monitors to rig the vote during municipal elections on Sunday.
A video uploaded to YouTube on Saturday showed one of the officials talking to local election monitors about increasing the number of votes for “our supporters." She also handed them envelopes, which she described as “an advance payment” and “a bonus.”
Moscow on Sunday heads to the polls in municipal elections, while other regions in Russia will hold gubernatorial elections.
Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said on Twitter on Saturday that the district head and the deputy head had been dismissed.
“For the gross violation in Novo-Peredelkino, I have dismissed the head and deputy head of Novo-Peredelkino,” Sobyanin said. “The evidence will be given to prosecutors on Monday.” Election monitors in the district had also been replaced, he added.
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