Communist Party supporters protest at ‘rigging’ in key Russian election
Kremlin-backed United Russia incumbent Andrei Tarasenko’s narrow win sparks an outcry in Vladivostok amid growing discontent
Vladivostok — Hundreds of Russian Communist Party supporters took to the central square of Vladivostok on Monday to protest against what they said was the rigging of a regional election in favour of a politician backed by President Vladimir Putin. With 95% of votes counted on Sunday night, Kremlin-backed United Russia incumbent Andrei Tarasenko was trailing his Communist rival by about 5%. But on Monday, the local election commission said Tarasenko had won by just more than 1%, an unlikely turnaround that the Communists said was evidence of rigging. The scandal is awkward for Putin, who met Tarasenko a week ago and told him that "everything will be OK". The comment was widely seen as a personal endorsement of Tarasenko, whom Putin appointed acting governor last year, at a time when Putin’s own ratings are under pressure from plans to raise the pension age. A week ago in the Primorsky Region, which includes the Pacific port of Vladivostok, 6,400km east of Moscow, Tarasenko failed to ...
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