Moscow comments on US electoral system ‘crisis’
The US electoral system has found itself in dire straits amid a high level of political polarization, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Wednesday, adding that the problems are evident to the entire world.
Speaking to Sputnik radio, Zakharova was asked to comment on the midterm elections in the US. According to the spokeswoman, the crisis of the US voting system “is being noticed even by their closest allies.”
The concern is also shared by “members of official international institutions” that assess elections from a legal point of view, she continued. “In my opinion, one can see this with the naked eye even without these statements,” Zakharova noted.
She pointed to the current intense political struggle between the Republican and Democratic parties. “I’m not even talking about social polarization, I’m talking about the level of dialogue between these poles,” she said, adding that it “looks more like annihilation than electoral procedures.”
According to CNN vote tracking, the Republican Party is on course to regain control of the US House of Representatives and is projected to take at least 198 seats, against the Democratic Party’s 178. In the Senate, the parties appear to be neck and neck.
However, exit polls suggest that 70% of US voters believe that the democratic system itself is “threatened,” either by lax voting laws, faulty vote machines, or false allegations of electoral misconduct.
This sentiment was echoed by US President Joe Biden last week, who accused his predecessor Donald Trump and other Republicans of encouraging political violence while blasting them for denying the results of the 2020 presidential election.
The GOP dismissed the allegations, and accused the president of fostering division in America. “Joe Biden promised unity but has instead demonized and smeared Americans while making life more expensive for all,” it said.
