In the regional elections last Sunday, four of Russia's biggest political parties were in competition for dominancy. The results are decisive, and not too surprising: the party that came out in front was United Russia (in other words, Putin's party, formed when he became President) with, in some areas, a majority of 98%.
Elections were held in 77 regions for various posts, including parliamentary seats and, in two cities, mayor. The average voter turnout of just over 49% was an increase from last election - just as United Russia's winning percentage of 56% was an increase of 4%. With the nearest competitor, A Just Russia, coming in with around 10%, this is a very comfortable margin for Putin's party. (Made even more comfortable by the fact that A Just Russia, which is publicized as United Russia's main opposition, is headed by a close friend of Putin's.) The other two parties, the Liberal Democrats and the Communists, ended up with only a handful of positions each.
Though there were no walkouts this year (there have been in the past) the elections were denounced by both the Liberal Democrats and the Communists as one of the dirtiest elections in recent memory. United Russia is accused of getting rid of opposing candidates as well as bribery, blackmail, and fraud in some areas - because of which the Communist leader has announced plans to appeal to the European Court of Human Rights. Many officials pessimistically see this as an indication of how the 2012 presidential elections will be run.
From ITAR-TASS:
http://www.itar-tass.com/eng/level2.html?NewsID=15576400&PageNum=2
From The Moscow Times:
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/news/article/united-russia-claims-landslide-win/419679.html
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