Landslide win for Putin’s party amid claims of rampant fraud after late surge of votes

VLADIMIR PUTIN yesterday thanked the Russian people for their “trust” after his party defied polls to win a landslide in an election marred by allegations of widespread fraud.

Opposition politicians called for protests after they saw large parliamentary poll leads disappear when last-minute electronic votes landed overwhelmingly in favour of Mr Putin.

The Russian president yesterday paid tribute to his “dear friends” after his United Russia won just under 50 per cent of the vote.

That was significantly above early polling, which showed the party on as little as 15 per cent in Moscow.

The Communist Party, traditionally a meek presence in Russia’s rubber-stamp parliament, demanded an investigation of allegations of fraud after coming second with 20 per cent of the vote.

Mr Putin’s party clung on to its supermajority in parliament, allowing it to pass controversial constitutional reforms. Britain and the US queried the integrity of the vote, with the Foreign Office saying it marked a “serious step back” for democratic freedoms.

The Kremlin denied allegations of fraud, saying Mr Putin viewed the vote as “competitive, open and fair”.

Anti-putin candidates backed by the jailed opposition leader Alexei Navalny’s “Smart Voting” campaign were leading in 12 out of Moscow’s 15 constituencies with 90 per cent of the vote counted yesterday morning. But two million e-votes flipped the results on their head. In a message passed on via his lawyer, Mr Navalny mocked officials for delaying the announcement of the results for several hours so United Russia could “forge the results”.

Last night, a few hundred people had gathered to protest in central Moscow, braving wet weather and a heavy police presence.