O.K. Here's an article about Russia's Duma elections. My guess is that absolutely nothing will be done on 601 until the dust settles and "more important" things are tended to.
Russian election puts Chechen campaign on the line
Sunday's parliamentary vote may be a test of Putin and his war
December 18, 1999
Web posted at: 11:47 a.m. EST (1647 GMT)
In this story:
Outside monitors to oversee elections
'Abundance of complaints'
RELATED STORIES, SITES
From staff and wire reports
MOSCOW (CNN) -- Russians on Sunday head to the polls to vote in parliamentary
elections that are expected to test public approval of Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's
performance in office and the popularity of his war in Chechnya.
About 100 million Russians are eligible to vote for candidates seeking four-year seats in the lower chamber of parliament, or
Duma. Russian border troops already are casting ballots.
In the breakaway republic of Chechnya -- the only region not taking part in the balloting -- Russian warplanes and artillery
continued to bomb the mountainous south as well as the capital Grozny, despite Western demands for a cease-fire.
The election, which has been overshadowed by the war, is widely viewed as a warm up for the
presidential election next June. But Putin, President Boris Yeltsin's preferred successor, said it
would be impossible to predict the outcome of the presidential election based on the results of the
Duma vote.
Putin on Friday marked the end to the campaign with a national address on television.
"We need to elect those who are not afraid to take responsibility for their decisions and to fight for
them. Those who won't be ruled by their personal interests, but by the interests of the country and
of the people," he said.
The war in Chechnya has been a boost for the newly formed, staunchly pro-government Unity
Party, backed by Putin and headed by Emergency Situations Minister Sergei Shoigu, who has paid
regular visits to the war zone.
Unity is expected to pull down between 16 and 21 percent of the Duma's seats, giving Yeltsin a
significant platform of support in a parliament that in recent years -- led by virulently anti-Yeltsin
Communists -- has consistently opposed him.
Lastest polls indicate the Communists are front-runners, but by only a small margin. They are
expected to receive between 17 and 24 percent support, and although they remain an influential
political force, this projected backing is a sharp reduction from the nearly 35 percent the party
polled in 1995.
The Duma race is being contested by 26 other parties. Parties that win more than 5 percent of the
vote will be allocated half of the chamber's 450 seats. The other half will go to the winners of
voting in single-member constituencies.
Outside monitors to oversee elections
The election will be monitored by 500,000 Russian observers. About 1,000 international
observers also will watch voters cast ballots at 10,000 polling stations across Russia, the
ITAR-Tass news agency reported Saturday.
The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe is providing most of the
international monitors -- delegates of parliaments from more than 20 OSCE member
states, the news agency said.
The Russian Federal Security Service and the Federal Guards Service have been put on
alert, and the Interior Ministry has set up a special headquarters to guard polling stations and ballots, ITAR-Tass said.
Central Election Commission chief Alexander Veshnyakov said Friday that preliminary results of the voting throughout Russia
will be available after 10 a.m. (0700 GMT) Monday.
'Abundance of complaints'
The campaigning officially ended at midnight Friday with candidates broadcasting their last radio and television ads. Saturday
was "a day of reflection" for voters.
Russia's Central Election Commission said it had found "an abundance of complaints"
about the campaigning, ITAR-Tass said.
The commission called for the prosecution of contenders who used their campaigns to stir
up ethnic and social unrest.
Veshnyakov, in an interview in the newspaper Izvestia on Saturday, said, "I cannot claim
that the electioneering, including media campaigning, was fair."
He said he was most surprised by the amount of false information supplied by the
candidates, including incorrect information about property and income. "Hundreds of
candidates have submitted incorrect data," he said.
But Putin said the country is ready to hold elections.
"There are probably still some problems," he said. "There are probably some small things that need to be completed. But the
large-scale issues have been dealt with, " he said. thing."
Correspondent Mike Hanna, The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
RELATED STORIES:
World leaders call on Russia to end war in Chechnya
December 17, 1999
Russian voters to choose new parliament
December 16, 1999
Albright delivering 'strong message' to Russia
December 16, 1999
Russians storm Grozny; witnesses report heavy casualties
December 15, 1999
Russian troops enter Chechen capital
December 14, 1999
Russians seize key Chechen airfield, threaten rebel-held town
December 13, 1999
Few flee Grozny; Russians focus on rebels in south
December 12, 1999
Russia helps civilians leave embattled Chechen capital
December 11, 1999
RELATED SITES:
Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe
Institute for War & Peace Reporting
Russian Government Internet Network
ITAR-TASS Home Page
Russia Today
Russian Resources
Russian Chronicles
Interfax News Agency
CaspianNet: Dagestan Republic
Chechen Islamic rebels
Chechen Republic Online
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