Russia’s Communist Party says half a million votes were ‘stolen’ from it in one region. At one polling station, cameras allegedly caught ballots being swapped overnight.

Alexander Safronov, secretary of the Krasnodar regional committee of Russia’s Communist Party (KPRF), said widespread fraud marred elections to the State Duma, the lower house of Russia’s parliament, held September 18–20.

Safronov said the party had “about half a million votes stolen” in Krasnodar Krai.

The KPRF representative believes the three-day voting period created additional opportunities for fraud. In particular, he said, ballots cast in the first days were not counted right away and were instead kept in special packets in safes until voting ended.

Safronov said a member of Precinct Election Commission No. 2059 in Krasnodar’s Yubileiny neighborhood noticed that her signature on the safe’s paper seal had been forged and that camera footage showed ballots being swapped overnight. Ballots from that safe were annulled, and only votes cast on the last day of the election were counted. As a result, Safronov said, KPRF received 41.5% of the party-list vote at that precinct, United Russia received 19.8%, and New People received 19.1%.

According to the Central Election Commission, United Russia won about 60% of the federal party-list vote in the State Duma elections in Krasnodar Krai, while KPRF, which came in second, received about 16%.

The Central Election Commission and Krasnodar Krai authorities had previously said the elections were held without serious violations.