The opposition RPR-Parnas party looks set to win seats in the Yaroslavl regional legislature, taking almost 6 percent of the vote at Sunday's elections, with 95.5 percent of ballots already counted.
RPR-Parnas, with a ticket headed by prominent Kremlin critic Boris Nemtsov and whose members have organized nationwide street protests against President Vladimir Putin, was only allowed to register as a party last year after the European Court of Human Rights ruled that the Russian government had unfairly denied it registration numerous times.
Success in Yaroslavl, a region close to Moscow, would be welcome for a party that previously has only won seats in the Barnaul city legislature in Siberia.
According to the preliminary count, 39.8 percent of the Yaroslavl region electorate voted for United Russia, 11.65 percent for the Communist Party, 10.23 percent for A Just Russia, and 5 percent for the Liberal Democratic Party, Vedomosti reported.
A party needs at least 5 percent of the vote to claim seats in the 50-member legislature. Half of the seats are elected on party tickets and the other half as single-member constituencies.
United Russia, the Liberal Democratic Party, the Communist Party and Patriots of Russia were all represented in the previous legislature. Patriots of Russia's results fell in this election, with the party expected to draw only 4 percent of the vote.
The Yaroslavl race drew national attention in August when elections officials denied the registration of billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov's increasingly popular Civil Platform party, saying the party had failed to open an elections bank account on time.
The party, however, said that its representatives were prevented from opening the account by local police, who it said detained them until the deadline had passed. Local authorities denied the allegation.
The Civil Platform ticket had listed about 50 candidates headed by Yevgeny Urlashov, a former United Russia member who turned against the ruling party in 2012 and won the post of Yaroslavl mayor as an independent candidate.
Urlashov was fired from the post in July and arrested on suspicion of corruption and extortion, allegations that Urlashov has said were fabricated to discredit his party prior to the elections.
A Message from The Moscow Times:
Dear readers,
We are facing unprecedented challenges. Russia's Prosecutor General's Office has designated The Moscow Times as an "undesirable" organization, criminalizing our work and putting our staff at risk of prosecution. This follows our earlier unjust labeling as a "foreign agent."
These actions are direct attempts to silence independent journalism in Russia. The authorities claim our work "discredits the decisions of the Russian leadership." We see things differently: we strive to provide accurate, unbiased reporting on Russia.
We, the journalists of The Moscow Times, refuse to be silenced. But to continue our work, we need your help.
Your support, no matter how small, makes a world of difference. If you can, please support us monthly starting from just $2. It's quick to set up, and every contribution makes a significant impact.
By supporting The Moscow Times, you're defending open, independent journalism in the face of repression. Thank you for standing with us.
Remind me later.
