Putin’s party claims victory
RUSSIA: Russia’s ruling party claimed victory in regional elections
on Sunday in a show of strength for Prime Minister Vladimir Putin 18
months before a presidential poll that could return him to the Kremlin.
The opposition called the vote “dirty” and said fraud had played a
part in the outcome.
Partial results indicated that Putin’s United Russia party would
retain control of at least five of six regional parliaments by a wide
margin and win thousands of municipal polls.
“We can say with confidence we got a majority in all electoral
territories,” senior United Russia official Boris Gryzlov told
journalists, saying early results and exit polls showed an increase in
support from elections four years ago.
“The results show everything we have done in the past four years was
correct.” The vote was a test for the Kremlin’s political machine ahead
of a March 2012 presidential election after several difficult months for
the ruling party, culminating with the sacking of one of the party’s
founders, the mayor of Moscow.
Strong support for United Russia would point to an easy victory for
its chosen candidate in 2012 presidential poll, when either Putin or his
protege, President Dmitry Medvedev, is expected to stand for a six-year
term. Regional elections in March showed a decline in support for United
Russia in most regions from 2007 federal elections.
The party this summer blocked the reappointment of the Kaliningrad
region governor, a United Russia member, after 10,000 people demanded
his resignation.
Divisions were exposed by a dispute that ended with Medvedev’s
dismissal last month of longtime Moscow mayor and United Russia ruling
council member Yuri Luzhkov.
Opposition communists and liberals alike said fraud was rampant.
The Communist Party placed a distant second in three regions
according to early results after between 17 and 77 percent of votes were
counted. “This was the dirtiest election of recent years,” Communist
Party leader Gennady Zyuganov told journalists in Moscow. “It is sad and
shameful.”
Russia’s main pro-Western liberal party, Yabloko, which only managed
to register in one of the seven regional votes, said it might challenge
the results in court, Interfax news agency reported.
“There are no signs anything is getting better under Medvedev,” said
Grigory Melkonyan, deputy head of Golos, Russia’s leading independent
vote watchdog.Golos registered widespread abuse of absentee ballots and
open vote-buying in several regions. The poll was dirtier than regional
elections held in March, Melkonyan said.
Moscow, Monday, Reuters |