"We were made enemies – we have the right": The CEC said they could hold closed sessions

CEC head Ella Pamfilova said that the commission can hold closed sessions:

"Some countries have named us as enemies, so we have the right to conduct some issues in private."

This statement was made by Ella Pamfilova at a regular meeting of the CEC. Apparently, it was a response to a comment by lawyer Stanislav Rachinsky. He revealed that for the second time in six months, the CEC passed resolutions of restricted distribution, "ignoring both the law and its own regulations".

Rachinsky remarked: "Could Ella Alexandrovna give a complete list of those norms of the law, which electoral commissions cannot comply with, citing the enemies? Is it only the CEC that is exempt from compliance with the law, or all commissions? At least with regard to the voting and counting procedures: are election commissions still obliged to count ballots or can they simply announce the desired result so that the enemy  is inadmissible?”

Sota suggested that the classified documents could refer to the annual bonuses of the commission's staff. Sota intends to appeal against the unlawful secrecy of the CEC document and to have them published.