Vote cements Kremlin’s power
United Russia party trounces liberals in Moscow election Putin accused of steadily eroding democratic reforms
MOSCOW— Muscovites handed a key victory to President Vladimir Putin yesterday, cementing Kremlin control over the Russian capital in a city council vote seen as a dress rehearsal for parliamentary elections in 2007.
Early results showed the Kremlinbacked United Russia party trouncing its opponents, including pro- Western liberal parties who had portrayed the vote as a last chance to salvage democratic reforms. With 92 per cent of votes counted, United Russia, which already had a majority on city council and also controls the federal parliament, was leading with 46 per cent of the vote. The Communists followed with 17 per cent and a coalition of liberal parties had garnered 11 per cent, radio station Ekho Moskvy reported. A spokesman for United Russia told Ekho Moskvy that the party expected to win at least 27 seats on city council and possibly all 35. City election officials said that about 34 per cent of Moscow’s 6.9 million eligible voters had taken part, more than the 20 per cent needed to make the vote valid. The election follows sweeping changes imposed by Putin last year that eliminated direct elections for regional leaders, giving the Kremlin the power to choose Moscow’s mayor, subject to the approval of city council.
Critics accuse Putin of steadily eroding democratic freedoms in Russia since coming to power in 2000 by increasing Kremlin controls over parliament, the media, regional leaders and non- governmental organizations. The country’s two main liberal parties — Yabloko and the Union of Right Forces — merged for the election after suffering a crushing defeat in the 2003 parliamentary ballot. Observers said a strong showing in Moscow, traditionally Russia’s most liberal city, was essential for the parties to ensure their political survival. But the liberals, who had campaigned on reinstating direct elections and other democratic reforms, were overshadowed in the campaign by the nationalist Rodina ( Motherland) party, which was ultimately barred from the vote for inciting ethnic hatred. Rodina, which opinion polls showed was likely to place second in the election, was struck off the ballot after airing a controversial campaign ad that showed leering immigrants throwing watermelon rinds in front of a blond woman pushing a baby carriage.
Yabloko leader Grigory Yavlinsky last night accused the Kremlin of rigging the vote by using state resources to guarantee a win for United Russia.
“ The elections took place under an authoritarian regime. They were not equal and they were not fair,” he said on Ekho Moskvy. Mayor Yury Luzhkov, Moscow’s powerful and popular boss for the past 13 years, has announced he will step down in 2007. Luzhkov, seen as one of the last prominent Russian politicians with any independence from the Kremlin, headed the United Russia ticket in a move widely seen as an attempt to protect his allies in city government and business.
Analysts say Putin’s team has been keen to establish political control over Moscow, Europe’s largest city and Russia’s richest, ahead of the next parliamentary elections and a presidential vote in 2008.