Russians vote in local and regional elections after biggest protests in years

Russian President Vladimir Putin casts his ballot at a polling station during a city council election in Moscow, Russia. Picture: Alexei Nikolsky, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP

Russian President Vladimir Putin casts his ballot at a polling station during a city council election in Moscow, Russia. Picture: Alexei Nikolsky, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP

Published Sep 8, 2019

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Moscow - Residents of Moscow voted on

Sunday in one of the most closely watched local elections in

years after the exclusion of many opposition candidates

triggered the biggest protests in the Russian capital for nearly

a decade.

Protests erupted in mid-July after the Central Election

Commission refused to register a large numbers of

opposition-minded candidates, saying they had failed to collect

enough signatures from genuine backers - a response that

President Vladimir Putin endorsed on Sunday after casting his

ballot.

Those excluded, including allies of prominent opposition

politician Alexei Navalny, denounced the move as a ruse designed

to stop them winning seats in Moscow's parliament.

Local or regional elections took place across all of

Russia's 11 time zones on Sunday. But the main focus was on

Moscow after this summer's demonstrations there turned into the

biggest sustained protest movement in Russia since 2011-2013.

Data from the election commission suggested the turnout in

Moscow would be a little more than 20%. Several videos shot in

polling stations showed some voters openly stuffing ballot boxes

with multiple voting slips circulated on social media.

Though local, the Moscow election was earmarked by Navalny

and his allies as an opportunity to make inroads against the

ruling pro-Putin United Russia party ahead of a national

parliamentary election in 2021.

The party's popularity is at its lowest level in more than a

decade.

Putin, asked after voting in central Moscow if he would have

preferred more diversity and a larger number of election

candidates, told reporters: "In some countries there are 30, 50

and 100 (candidates). It's not important how many there are, but

of what quality they are."

At more than 60%, Putin's own popularity rating is much

higher than most Western leaders, though lower than it has been

previously. The former KGB officer won a landslide election

victory last year that will keep him in office until 2024.

United Russia's popularity is suffering from discontent over

a move to raise the retirement age at a time of steadily falling

incomes and its Moscow candidates rebranded as independents in

an apparent effort to distance themselves from it formally.

Navalny advised his supporters to vote tactically across

Russia to reduce the party's influence.

One 25-year-old Muscovite, a lawyer who gave his name only

as Vladislav, said he had voted tactically for Sergey Mitrokhin,

of the opposition Yabloko party, "because I'm tired of United

Russia, stealing and everything that follows".

"I hope that smart voting will work ... We have to start

changing something (and) ... there is nothing to lose any more,"

he told Reuters.

Police detained about a dozen opposition activists near

Moscow's city hall on Sunday. The activists were wearing

T-shirts drawing attention to the fate of people the authorities

have charged in connection with this summer's protests. 

Reuters

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