President Dmitry Medvedev, in a televised address to the nation, has urged voters to make the “right choice” in Russia’s parliamentary elections on December 5.
Medvedev, who is heading the party list for the ruling United Russia party, said in his speech on December 2 that the country needed “an efficient legislative body of responsible politicians,” which was “capable of helping to improve our people’s practical living standards,” not a parliament “torn by irreconcilable differences” of the kind Russia experienced in the 1990s.
Medvedev also said that the upcoming election was “a high point of democracy” and that all seven parties registered to take part had been given a “free and fair competition.”
Voters have complained of a record number of violations of election law in the run up to the vote, mainly by the United Russia party.
Golos, a leading independent vote monitor, has recorded more than 4,700 complaints, most involving United Russia.
Russian prosecutors have said they are investigating Golos for an alleged breach of election campaign rules.
compiled from agency reports