Prefect of Zelenograd Anatoly Smirnov:

– The main event of the week-probably not even a week, but the whole year, along with the Victory anniversary – is the vote on amendments to the Constitution.

The forced delay in voting proved to be beneficial. On the one hand, the authorities, medical institutions, social workers and volunteers were able to concentrate their efforts on urgent tasks in the fight against the pandemic. On the other hand, people got a pause, during which they got acquainted with the essence of the amendments in more detail and thoroughly considered them.

As expected, the activity of residents was very high. As always, Zelenograd is slightly ahead of many other districts of Moscow. According to preliminary data, a little less than 60% of our residents voted (excluding electronic voting).

A significant part of Zelenograd residents preferred the electronic form of voting, including me. It's not just about the pandemic and the possibility of getting infected. Safety and convenience on our sites were provided at the proper level. Even those who had a high temperature at the entrance were allowed to vote, but in separate rooms, isolated from others. So it was no more dangerous to come to the polling station than to ride the bus or go to the store.

But the electronic method provides independence from many other factors. Let's say a person is in a country house, away or living in Zelenograd but registered in another district – few people want to waste time on a trip. Such people did not go to the polling stations before, although they would not mind expressing their opinion. And now with the help of new technologies, you can vote while on vacation (even in another region), on the bus or at work, without wasting time. This is especially true for young people who do not like bureaucracy, but feel confident in modern means of communication. I have no doubt that electronic technologies in this area are the future. Among Muscovites who voted electronically, 62.3% supported the amendments.

Residents of Zelenograd who made their choice in person, overwhelmingly (almost 70%) supported the adoption of amendments to the Constitution. Now that the vote is over, I can also tell you my point of view. Russia in the 90’s passed the hardest test. But we have long since moved from a policy of survival to a strategy of building for the future, to strengthen the internal, social and foreign policy positions of our state. It remained to fix this new course in the basic law of the country, which was done. I am sure that all Russians, including residents of Zelenograd, have made their choice.