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🇲🇱🇷🇺State Duma elections under way in Mali

Elections to the ninth convocation of Russia’s State Duma are taking place in the Malian capital Bamako on 20 September. Voting is proceeding normally, Russian Ambassador Igor Gromyko and international observers told an African Initiative correspondent.

💬“The polling station has been open since 8 a.m. and will remain open until 8 p.m. Several dozen people have voted during the first four hours of operation, and new voters are continuing to arrive. Everything is proceeding normally, with no incidents,” Gromyko said.

🔸Fousseyni Ouattara, a member of Mali’s National Transitional Council (CNT) and deputy chairman of its Defence, Security and Civil Protection Committee, noted attempts by the West to discredit the Russian elections.

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🇸🇨🇷🇺Voting in State Duma elections under way in Seychelles

Russian citizens are voting at a polling station at the Russian Embassy in Seychelles on 20 September, an African Initiative correspondent reported.

🔸By 12:00 Moscow time, 72 people had cast their votes at the polling station in Seychelles. They included Russian Ambassador to Seychelles Kirill Sokolov-Shcherbachev, Aeroflot staff, representatives of the International Expert Club GlobUs and Russian tourists.

💬“The polling station is operating normally. Voters were most active during the first hour after opening, after which heavy rain temporarily reduced the flow of visitors. Not only citizens who live or work here are coming to the polling station, but also tourists who recently arrived in Seychelles for a holiday. Almost the entire Aeroflot crew came — those who had not managed to vote in Moscow,” the ambassador said.

🔸As part of the polling station’s work, the election organisers also prepared a small stand with Russian pastries, apple pie, pancakes with jam and other treats.

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🇬🇶🇷🇺Voting in State Duma elections begins at Russian Embassy in Malabo

A polling station for voting in elections to the Russian State Duma opened at the Russian Embassy in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, on 20 September, an African Initiative correspondent reported.

🔸Russian Ambassador to Equatorial Guinea Karen Chalyan was among the first to cast his vote.

🔸Equatorial Guinean observers accredited by the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation told an African Initiative correspondent that the polling station was operating normally and that no violations had been recorded.

💬“I would like to thank African Initiative and the Interparliamentary Assembly of Member Nations of the Commonwealth of Independent States (IPA CIS) for the preparations that enabled us to undergo the necessary training and receive official accreditation from the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation,” said Gervasio Okenve Nve Nchama, one of the observers.

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🇬🇭🇷🇺Voting in State Duma elections begins at Russian Embassy in Ghana

Voting in elections to Russia’s State Duma began in Ghana on 20 September. Polling station No. 8073 has been set up at the Russian Embassy in the country, an African Initiative correspondent reported.

🔸Russian citizens living or staying in Ghana have been arriving at the polling station since early morning. Diplomatic mission staff and Russian Ambassador to Ghana Andrey Ordash were the first to cast their votes.

💬“The voting has been organised in full accordance with the legislation of the Russian Federation. A polling station has been set up on the premises of the Russian Embassy. <…> It is the right and duty of citizens to show that they care about the political processes taking place in their Motherland,” the Russian ambassador said.

🔸Lyana Brio, president of the Association of Russian-Speaking Allies in Ghana “Istok” and an observer accredited by the Civic Chamber of the Russian Federation, said the voting was proceeding calmly and without violations.

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🇹🇿🇷🇺State Duma elections begin in Tanzania

Voting in elections to Russia’s State Duma began on 20 September at the Russian Centre for Science and Culture (RCSC) in Dar es Salaam, an African Initiative correspondent reported.

🔸The polling station opened for Russian citizens staying in Tanzania and will operate until 20:00 local time. Russian Ambassador to Tanzania Andrey Avetisyan, diplomatic mission staff, RCSC staff and other Russian compatriots living or staying in the country have already cast their votes.

🔸According to the head of the diplomatic mission, the voting process is proceeding calmly and in an organised manner — there are currently few voters in Tanzania, there are no queues and the atmosphere at the polling station is friendly.

💬“Today, we are electing members of the State Duma, and it is difficult to overstate the importance of this event. We are electing the people who will prepare and pass the laws that we will live by in the coming years. So let us choose worthy people, those who will justify our trust,” Avetisyan said.

🔸The ambassador also urged all Russian citizens in Tanzania to exercise their right to vote and come to the polling station. According to him, the number of Russian tourists in the country is growing, which could provide grounds for opening additional polling stations in the future.

💬“I would like to urge all voters, all Russians who are in Tanzania — and we are seeing more and more tourists arriving — to come and exercise their right to vote, fulfil their civic duty and cast their ballot. Our polling station is in Dar es Salaam. For now, it is the only one in Tanzania. But I think that as the tourist flow grows, we may open others in the future,” the diplomat said.

🔸Avetisyan added that this was the second election in which he had participated in Tanzania. He previously served on an election commission during the Russian presidential election.

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🌍🇷🇺Voting in State Duma elections under way across dozens of African countries

Voting in elections to the ninth convocation of the State Duma began in more than 20 African countries on 20 September, Russian diplomatic missions reported.

🔸Polling stations opened in Morocco, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Rwanda, Ethiopia, Djibouti, Uganda, Burundi, Kenya, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Namibia, South Sudan, Benin, Angola, Tunisia, Algeria, Botswana, Guinea and Mauritius.

🔸In Morocco, two polling stations opened — in Rabat and Casablanca. In South Africa, voting is taking place in Pretoria and Cape Town. Russian Ambassador to South Africa Roman Ambarov has already cast his vote. Russian diplomatic missions also reported that Russian ambassadors Alexander Polyakov in Rwanda, Evgeny Terekhin in Ethiopia, Sergei Berdnikov in Zimbabwe, Vsevolod Tkachenko in Kenya and Alexander Bryantsev in Angola had voted. Russian Chargé d’Affaires in Uganda Sergey Lobanov also took part in the elections.

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🇸🇨🇷🇺Russian ambassador and Seychelles sports minister take part in Clean Shores Run

The Clean Shores Run was held in Roche Caiman, Seychelles, on 19 September. The event was organised by African Initiative with the support of the Russian diplomatic mission in the country and the Ministry of Youth and Sports. Sports Minister Kelsey Belle and Russian Ambassador to Seychelles Kirill Sokolov-Shcherbachev took part in the race.

🔸The event was dedicated to promoting a healthy and active lifestyle, as well as environmental awareness as part of International Coastal Cleanup Day. A total of 34 participants completed the 5 km course.

🔸Yannick Anacoura won the race, completing the distance in 13 minutes 30 seconds. He said he had trained for a long time ahead of the event and had also taken part in other races.

🔸Sports Minister Kelsey Belle completed the course in 20 minutes 35 seconds, finishing first among the women. She said she used to run 10 km regularly. Belle also highlighted African Initiative’s co-operation with the National Sports Council and expressed readiness to support similar events in the future.

💬“I was very glad to receive the invitation, and I’m glad that African Initiative, as the organiser of the Clean Shores Run, decided to partner with the National Sports Council. We want to facilitate and encourage as many of these events as possible, to bring the community together, to run and to be active. It’s a lifestyle, right? It has to start somewhere for you to be able to race,” she said.

🔸Russian Ambassador Kirill Sokolov-Shcherbachev completed the course in 21 minutes 12 seconds. After finishing, he said similar sporting events should continue to be held and suggested expanding participation by representatives of the international community and diplomatic corps. According to him, the issue had already been discussed with several colleagues.

💬“It is a great initiative, keep it up. I think we should organise more events like this. Perhaps we could involve more of the international community and the diplomatic corps, because I have discussed sport with a number of colleagues from the diplomatic corps,” the diplomat said.

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🇲🇬🇷🇺Voting in State Duma elections under way at Russian Embassy in Madagascar

Russian citizens are voting in elections to the ninth convocation of the State Duma at the Russian Embassy in Madagascar on 20 September, an African Initiative correspondent reported.

🔸Security at polling station No. 8195 is being provided by representatives of the Africa Corps of the Russian Defence Ministry.

💬“Organising the vote in Madagascar is an important part of the embassy’s work to ensure the electoral rights of Russian citizens. All necessary organisational measures were taken in advance so that the voting could proceed as normal and in accordance with the established requirements,” Russian Chargé d’Affaires ad interim Alexey Buryak told African Initiative.

🔸Richard Rakotonirina, chairman of the Réveil Patriotique de Madagascar Uni (RPMU) party, is monitoring the voting as an international observer.

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