Russian local elections will test Kremlin's plans

Moscow, Oct 8: Nine Russian regions elect local assemblies today in a vote that will test the popularity of government forces ahead of 2008 presidential polls.

For the first time, the Kremlin has blessed three more pro-government parties to compete with President Vladimir Putin's United Russia bloc as Moscow tries to inject more variety into Russian politics.

Putin's rule, popular with most Russians, has been marked by a concentration of political power. Genuine opposition parties have shrivelled and most democratic institutions are under tough Kremlin control.

''Of course it is not a democracy,'' said Dmitry Oreshkin, head of the Mercator think-tank. ''But the new situation creates at least some competition, which is good.'' The new pro-government force consists of the Pensioners Party, the Motherland party and the Party of Life.

They plan to unite on October 29 but will stand separately in today's elections, held in regions scattered from the Finnish border to the Pacific coast.

After Putin blessed their initiative, the three smaller parties can now hope for crucial support from local officials. The opposition Communists and Liberal Democrats will also take part but are not expected to win substantial shares of the vote.

Two-Party System

Analysts say the emergence of a second Kremlin-backed force will produce civilised rivalry between Kremlin clans, rather than revive genuine choice. This will allow more flexibility once Putin leaves office in 2008.

They say United Russia is close to Dmitry Medvedev, a first deputy prime minister who is widely seen as a candidate to succeed Putin. The new pro-Kremlin force is linked with Igor Sechin, a Putin aide who leads a rival Kremlin faction.

Today's election will show whether the attempt to produce a political system based on two pro-Kremlin parties could work.

''It remains to be seen how local officials, trained to support United Russia alone, cope with the need to be more flexible and share their support,'' Oreshkin said.

''The choice could be even more confusing for...voters.'' In the Lipetsk region of central Russia, for example, the Pensioners Party has won permission from Putin to use his image in its election posters.

New election legislation adopted in the past year will not help United Russia's challengers.

It has raised the size of election deposits, upped the threshold for winning seats in local assemblies to 7 per cent from 3 per cent and slashed the minimum turnout needed to make voting valid.

''It's perfectly designed to make life easy for the United Russia and hard for its competitors,'' said Ivanchenko.

Oreshkin said it would be a good result if the new pro-government force scores a third of United Russia's vote in the polls. First results are expected tomorrow.

Reuters