Millions of Russian Women and Men Vote in Sunday Regional Elections
Up to 31 million Russian women and men voted Sunday in regional parliamentary elections which were expected to confirm the two mainstream pro-Kremlin parties. While a number of smaller parties were on some regional ballets, a number of voters were upset that some parties had not been allowed to participate.
The Yabloko party was ruled ineligible because the electoral officials has ruled that more than 10 percent of the signatures on the forms were invalid, even after the party appealed by having people who signed testify to their authenticity. The party is a liberal one.
Another liberal party, Union of Right Forces, was kept off the ballot in four regions. One region barred them for giving an incorrect bank account for paying the registration fee. Other candidates were threatened to leave the race or offered jobs not to run.
Some feel the elections are being controlled by President Putin, who must step down after this term. He has suggested in the past that he will choose his successor and therefore still be able to influence the leadership of the country.
The two main parties, United Russia which dominates the national parliament and is the favored party of Putin, and Just Russia are both pro-Kremlin. Just Russia claims to be an opposition party to United Russia, which some feel is greedy and corrupt. Just Russia is also Putin-friendly. Some analysts feel that the two parties present the appearance of a democratic two party system, while still insuring that Putin’s successor is like minded in his politics.
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