Australian councillor praises Vladimir Putin’s election win on Russian TV

London: A regional West Australian councillor has appeared in a bizarre video on Russian state-owned TV,congratulating President Vladimir Putin on his election victory.

Adrian McRae,who was elected to the Port Hedland council in early March and has not yet been sworn in,was reportedly flown to Moscow as part of an international delegation to observe thepresidential elections.

In a video published by Channel One State News,McRae congratulated Putin on his win and hailed it as the most transparent in the world.

“Can I please pass on my most sincere congratulations to Mr Vladimir Putin,” he said.

“In my lifetime,the world has never seen such a transparent and comprehensive victory as what we saw here over the last three days.”

Western nations,including Australia,widely condemned Russia’s presidential election,in which Putin claimed a landslide victory that will keep him in power until at least 2030 amid a crackdown on dissent and opposition.

Australia’s Foreign Minister Penny Wong said the result was an “insult to democracy”,while British Foreign Secretary David Cameron said it had underlined the depth of repression of Putin’s regime,which “seeks to silence any opposition to his illegal war”.

McRae contested the last federal election as a candidate for The Great Australian Party,founded by former WA senator and conspiracy theorist Rod Culleton,in the seat of Durack.

He said later he had travelled to Russia as an “independent international observer” after being invited by Russian Ambassador to Australia Aleksey Pavlovsky.

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“I was invited to Moscow to participate in an international delegation,” he said.

The Russian embassy told the ABC that McRae,along with many other foreign nationals,took part in the election observation program during the elections of the president of the Russian Federation.

From Russia,McRaetold regional newspaper North West Telegraph that he could “write for hours” about “the most ridiculously over-the-top transparency” he witnessed as part of theelection process.

“Having run as a candidate in both Australian federal and local government elections,as well as volunteering as a scrutineer for national elections and referendums,I was truly shocked by Russia’s transparency... It leaves the Australian system in its wake.”

Following the election,pro-Putin activist Simeon Boikov,known by his moniker “Aussie Cossack”,posted images of McRae receiving an award — the Badge of Honour — from opposition candidate Sergey Baburin,which he said was “for his efforts in strengthening friendship between Australia and Russia”.

Town of Port Hedland chief executive Carl Askew told theNorth West Telegraph that McRae had travelled in a personal capacity.

“The town does not comment on the personal activities of elected members,” he said. “All elected members are subject to the town’s code of conduct.”

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