Tuesday 13 December 2011

Medvedev convenes new Russian parliament

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev reiterated on Tuesday his pledge to carefully investigate all alleged violations in the December 4 parliamentary elections and take “fair decisions” based on probe results.
“Not everyone is happy with the results of the popular vote,” Medvedev told representatives of the four parliamentary parties at his Gorki residence near Moscow.
“This is a new situation [for us], but it cannot be otherwise. Election commissions and the pertinent judicial bodies will carefully consider all claims and lawsuits. If real violations are revealed, fair decisions should be made,” Medvedev said without elaborating.
A total of 117 claims over the alleged vote fraud were filed on election day alone, he added.
Russia has seen a wave of protests following the polls, in which the pro-Kremlin United Russia party, backed by Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, won almost half of the vote, retaining its majority in the lower house of Russia’s parliament, the State Duma.
The vote was marred by what both protesters and international observers have described as multiple violations, including ballot-stuffing and other fraud in favor of United Russia.


He also promised to push ahead with political reforms before leaving office in March presidential election that are widely expected to hand the presidency back to Putin.
"We must take new decisions, take more decisive steps to remove barriers on political activity. ... And what is most important for our country, (we must) bridge the gap between various social groups and government institutions."
As a concession, United Russia is expected to give up its stranglehold on parliamentary committees -- a measure aimed at giving the three nominally opposition parties in parliament a stronger voice.
"The opposition should control a large part of key parliament committees," Medvedev said.
Analysts still believe Putin should win the presidential polls but predict a far rockier ride to his third Kremlin term than appeared the case just weeks ago when the opposition lacked the confidence it gained with the rallies.
An unexpected challenger appeared Monday in the shape of tycoon Mikhail Prokhorov who has in the past shown liberal sympathies although some newspapers expressed suspicion his candidacy was no more than a Kremlin plot to soak up dissent.
The Vedomosti daily quoted a Kremlin source as saying that Prokhorov's candidacy was a "tactical decision" aimed at reducing tensions in society after the protests of the last week.
The ultra-nationalist Liberal Democratic Party Tuesday meanwhile nominated its leader Vladimir Zhirinovsky to stand in the elections for a fifth time.
The leader of the Fair Russia party Sergei Mironov formally put in his application to stand in the elections with the central election commission, adding that he believed race was still open.

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