Voters across Russia are choosing a new parliament in an election nearly certain to be won by President Vladimir Putin's United Russia party. Polls opened in Moscow and other western cities Sunday, hours after voting began in frigid weather in Russia's far east. More than 100 million people are eligible to vote for legislators in the 450-seat State Duma — the lower house of parliament. The vote ends Sunday evening at 18:00 UTC , when polls close in the Baltic exclave of Kaliningrad , the farthest west of Russia's 11 time zones . After opposition leader Garry Kasparov cast his vote, he accused the ruling party of, in his words, "not just rigging the vote, but raping the whole electoral system." A Russian state-run news agency, Interfax , quotes the elections commission chairman saying 299 foreign observers have been accredited so far, and the number will increase during the day. Opposition leaders accuse the Kremlin of stifling debate during the campaign leading up to the elections through pressure tactics and media controls. The constitution prohibits Mr. Putin from running for a third consecutive term as president in March. His name is at the head of United Russia's candidate list, indicating he might become prime minister in the next government, retaining much of his power.
Voters across Russia are choosing a new parliament in an election nearly certain to be won by President Vladimir Putin's party. Polls opened in and other western cities Sunday, hours after voting began in frigid weather in Russia's far east. More than 100 million people are eligible to vote for legislators in the 450-seat — the lower house of parliament. The vote ends Sunday evening at 18:00 , when polls close in the exclave of , the farthest west of Russia's 11 . After opposition leader cast his vote, he accused the ruling party of, in his words, "not just rigging the vote, but raping the whole electoral system." A Russian state-run news agency, , quotes the elections commission chairman saying 299 foreign observers have been accredited so far, and the number will increase during the day. Opposition leaders accuse the of stifling debate during the campaign leading up to the elections through pressure tactics and media controls. The prohibits Mr. Putin from running for a third consecutive term as president in March. His name is at the head of United Russia's candidate list, indicating he might become prime minister in the next government, retaining much of his power.
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