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A few dozen activists of the Left Front opposition group tried to stage an unsanctioned protest just outside Red Square. |
(AJ) Russia's Vladimir Putin-led ruling party is on course to retain power in the country's legislative elections but with a greatly reduced share of the vote, according to the country's central election commission.
Putin's United Russia party is likely to have 238 seats in Russia's 450-seat State Duma lower house of parliament after Sunday's election, Vladimir Churov, chief of Russia's Central Election Commission, said on Monday.
The forecast, based on a nearly complete preliminary count that gave Putin's party 49.5 per cent of the votes, would give the prime minister's party a relatively slim 13-seat majority in the Duma. Although party leaders declared victory on Sunday night, the results represent a significant drop in support for United Russia compared to elections four years ago when it won over 64 per cent of the vote nationwide.
Sunday's vote, which was also overshadowed by opposition allegations of voting irregularities, was considered a crucial popularity test for Putin, Russia's prime minister and dominant political figure for more than a decade, who is seeking to return to the Russian presidency in elections in March. "Even in difficult times, the people have declared that they believe in our potential to build a prosperous country," Putin said on Sunday night as preliminary results were released.
"It reflects the real set of moods in our country," President Dmitry Medvedev said, adding that the vote showed "democracy in action".
While United Russia gained almost half of votes, support for opposition parties was split with the Communist Party placing second with 19 per cent of the vote, the populist A Just Russia group polling almost 13 per cent and the ultra-nationalist Liberal Democratic Party almost 12 per cent.
About 60 per cent of Russia's 110 million registered voters cast ballots, down from 64 per cent four years ago.
The loss of its two-thirds parliamentary majority means the party can no longer amend the constitution unchallenged.
"We are watching and hope that we shall get a majority of the mandates in the Duma," Boris Gryzlov, head of United Russia's supreme council, told reporters. "We can say that United Russia remains the ruling party."
Disenchantment The drop in United Russia's popularity appears to reflect a sense of disenchantment with Putin's authoritarian course, the party's failure to address corruption and the gap between ordinary Russians and the super-rich.
"There is quite a subtle shift in the political mood here in Russia," Andrew Osborn, Moscow correspondent for the UK's Daily Telegraph, told Al Jazeera. "This is the first sign things might be changing. People are not willing to put up with the total dominance of one party anymore."
Communist Party leaders and other parties denounced the elections after polls closed, complaining of irregularities aimed at boosting United Russia's vote count, including intimidation of voters and other accusations of unprecedented dirty tricks by the authorities.
Communist leader Gennady Zyuganov said his party monitors thwarted an attempt to stuff a ballot box at a Moscow polling station where they found 300 ballots already in the box before the start of the vote. He said incidents of ballot-stuffing were reported at several other stations in Moscow, Rostov-on-Don and other areas.
In Vladivostok in the east, voters complained to police that United Russia was offering free food in exchange for promises to vote for the party.
Only seven parties had been allowed to field candidates for parliament this year, while the most vocal opposition groups have been denied registration and barred from campaigning.
Al Jazeera's Neave Barker, reporting from Moscow on Sunday, said that Golos, the country's only independent election observer, had reported that more than 5,000 irregularities had been recorded, mostly related to people being pressured to vote for United Russia.
"There have been some skirmishes today in and around Red Square," our correspondent said. "The capital is on lockdown, and the police are looking for any sign of trouble, with more protests expected later on."
'Theatre of the absurd'
Speaking to Al Jazeera, Garry Kasparov, a political activist and former world chess champion, said: "All the other parties participating in this so called election are 100 per cent under the Kremlin's control. Voting for them is to vote for puppets in the theatre of the absurd."
About 30 opposition protesters gathered by the Kremlin screaming: "Your elections are a farce!" through loudspeakers. Twelve were detained by police, Reuters witnesses said.
Golos and two liberal media outlets said their websites had been shut down by hackers intent on silencing allegations of violations.
Golos said its "Map of Violations" website documenting reports of fraud was inaccessible due a cyber-attack and its email was paralysed.
Golos also said it was excluded from several polling booths in the Siberian Tomsk region.
Many election violations involved absentee ballots, said Liliya Shibanova, Golos' director. People with absentee certificates were being bused to cast ballots at multiple polling stations, she said.
Moscow prosecutors launched an investigation last week into Golos' activities after legislators objected to its Western financing.
Customs officers held Shibanova for 12 hours at a Moscow airport on Saturday, seizing her laptop computer in what the group said was an attempt to stop it monitoring the election.
Russia is the variable we were all missing when we were angry at China. China will be selling those products to Russia soon. The whole world in in denial. Russia has come to power... it is the new Superpower... and we have failed to understand this. It isn't just that they are resource rich.... it is that they control the pipelines to the whole world. It would be in our interest to recognize Russia's new position. All diplomacy must be aimed there.
Putin's United Russia party is likely to have 238 seats in Russia's 450-seat State Duma lower house of parliament after Sunday's election, Vladimir Churov, chief of Russia's Central Election Commission, said on Monday.
The forecast, based on a nearly complete preliminary count that gave Putin's party 49.5 per cent of the votes, would give the prime minister's party a relatively slim 13-seat majority in the Duma. Although party leaders declared victory on Sunday night, the results represent a significant drop in support for United Russia compared to elections four years ago when it won over 64 per cent of the vote nationwide.
Sunday's vote, which was also overshadowed by opposition allegations of voting irregularities, was considered a crucial popularity test for Putin, Russia's prime minister and dominant political figure for more than a decade, who is seeking to return to the Russian presidency in elections in March. "Even in difficult times, the people have declared that they believe in our potential to build a prosperous country," Putin said on Sunday night as preliminary results were released.
"It reflects the real set of moods in our country," President Dmitry Medvedev said, adding that the vote showed "democracy in action".
While United Russia gained almost half of votes, support for opposition parties was split with the Communist Party placing second with 19 per cent of the vote, the populist A Just Russia group polling almost 13 per cent and the ultra-nationalist Liberal Democratic Party almost 12 per cent.
About 60 per cent of Russia's 110 million registered voters cast ballots, down from 64 per cent four years ago.
The loss of its two-thirds parliamentary majority means the party can no longer amend the constitution unchallenged.
"We are watching and hope that we shall get a majority of the mandates in the Duma," Boris Gryzlov, head of United Russia's supreme council, told reporters. "We can say that United Russia remains the ruling party."
Disenchantment The drop in United Russia's popularity appears to reflect a sense of disenchantment with Putin's authoritarian course, the party's failure to address corruption and the gap between ordinary Russians and the super-rich.
"There is quite a subtle shift in the political mood here in Russia," Andrew Osborn, Moscow correspondent for the UK's Daily Telegraph, told Al Jazeera. "This is the first sign things might be changing. People are not willing to put up with the total dominance of one party anymore."
Communist Party leaders and other parties denounced the elections after polls closed, complaining of irregularities aimed at boosting United Russia's vote count, including intimidation of voters and other accusations of unprecedented dirty tricks by the authorities.
Communist leader Gennady Zyuganov said his party monitors thwarted an attempt to stuff a ballot box at a Moscow polling station where they found 300 ballots already in the box before the start of the vote. He said incidents of ballot-stuffing were reported at several other stations in Moscow, Rostov-on-Don and other areas.
In Vladivostok in the east, voters complained to police that United Russia was offering free food in exchange for promises to vote for the party.
Only seven parties had been allowed to field candidates for parliament this year, while the most vocal opposition groups have been denied registration and barred from campaigning.
Al Jazeera's Neave Barker, reporting from Moscow on Sunday, said that Golos, the country's only independent election observer, had reported that more than 5,000 irregularities had been recorded, mostly related to people being pressured to vote for United Russia.
"There have been some skirmishes today in and around Red Square," our correspondent said. "The capital is on lockdown, and the police are looking for any sign of trouble, with more protests expected later on."
'Theatre of the absurd'
Speaking to Al Jazeera, Garry Kasparov, a political activist and former world chess champion, said: "All the other parties participating in this so called election are 100 per cent under the Kremlin's control. Voting for them is to vote for puppets in the theatre of the absurd."
About 30 opposition protesters gathered by the Kremlin screaming: "Your elections are a farce!" through loudspeakers. Twelve were detained by police, Reuters witnesses said.
Golos and two liberal media outlets said their websites had been shut down by hackers intent on silencing allegations of violations.
Golos said its "Map of Violations" website documenting reports of fraud was inaccessible due a cyber-attack and its email was paralysed.
Golos also said it was excluded from several polling booths in the Siberian Tomsk region.
Many election violations involved absentee ballots, said Liliya Shibanova, Golos' director. People with absentee certificates were being bused to cast ballots at multiple polling stations, she said.
Moscow prosecutors launched an investigation last week into Golos' activities after legislators objected to its Western financing.
Customs officers held Shibanova for 12 hours at a Moscow airport on Saturday, seizing her laptop computer in what the group said was an attempt to stop it monitoring the election.
