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Elections Chief Proposes to Discuss Own Resignation, Commission Refuses

An odd farce has been playing out at the office of the Central Elections Commission.

For the second day in a row, opposition members of the commission have been joined by elections chief Vladimir Churov in supporting a proposal to discuss the resignation of Churov himself.

Commission member from the Communist Party Kirill Serdyukov proposed adding the issue of Churov's early resignation to the commission's agenda Friday and was supported in his motion by members from the Yabloko, A Fair Russia, and Communist parties—as well as by Churov himself, Interfax reported.

The motion did not pass, since only four of the commission's 15 members supported it.

Churov proposed adding the topic of his early resignation to the commission's agenda on Thursday as well.

Five State Duma deputies from the Communist Party sent a letter to President Dmitry Medvedev on Friday asking the president to "take measures to defend citizen Churov, securing his right to be released of the position deputized him [made] at his own request," Interfax reported.

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