Communists withdraw from fair elections treaty

The Communist Party of the Russian Federation has withdrawn from the treaty on fair elections, according to its leader Gennady Zyuganov. The treaty was signed by almost all political parties and blocs involved in the parliamentary election campaign, except for Yabloko. Zyuganov declared that "the election campaign tended to turn into a slapstick comedy, with the ruling parties making sure that lawmakers would be elected formally, and in fact be appointed by the presidential administration".

The communist leader specified that the Central Election Commission (CEC) had not considered a single serious violation of election legislation committed during the election campaign. Zyuganov urged the Yedinaya Rossiya (United Russia) party to take part in television debates involving the Communist Party to discuss key problems of the nation.

Zyuganov also argued for intensifying control over voting at polling stations. According to him, each polling station should be attended by several observers to register all violations and receive a copy of the protocol on election results.