Feed: CNN.com - WORLD
Posted on: Tuesday, December 06, 2011 4:55 PM
Author: CNN.com - WORLD
Subject: Clinton calls for probe of Russian vote
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called Tuesday for a "full investigation" of irregularities in recent parliamentary elections in Russia, citing "serious concern" about the vote. |
Clinton calls for probe of Russian vote
- NEW: Vladimir Putin's party will have 238 seats, down from more than 300, officials say
- Pro- and anti-Putin parties plan rallies in Moscow for Tuesday
- Security forces are on alert until final results are declared, the Interior Ministry says
- The secretary of state has "serious concern" about Sunday's vote, she says
Moscow (CNN) -- Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called Tuesday for a "full investigation" of irregularities in Sunday's parliamentary elections in Russia, citing "serious concern" about the vote.
Shortly after she spoke, the Central Election Commission announced that Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's party suffered a large loss of seats in the election.
United Russia will have 238 seats, down from more than 300 in the outgoing parliament, or Duma, Central Election Commission head Vladimir Churov announced with 99.99% of ballots counted.
United Russia polled just under 50%, preliminary results showed earlier.
Russia election smeared by fraud claims 
Russian vote is setback for Putin The Communist party will have 92 seats, A Just Russia will have 64, and the Liberal Democrats will have 56, Churov said.
Moscow braced for opposing rallies as the results were announced, and Russian security forces were on high alert.
The opposition Other Russia party announced plans to demonstrate against the election results, while Putin's United Russia will hold a separate rally, the Interfax news agency reported.
Security forces will remain on alert until results are declared, the Interior Ministry said earlier Tuesday. Officials did not say how many extra security forces were deployed or what units they were from.
Clinton was speaking as ministers met at the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, whose election monitors also criticized the election.
The group was expected to discuss a draft report by the organization's election-observer mission. It details alleged attempts to stuff ballot boxes, manipulate voter lists and harass election monitors.
A preliminary OSCE report on the election said some political parties had been prevented from running and that the vote was "slanted in favor of the ruling party."
The group, which monitors and promotes democracy and human rights in Europe, cited the lack of an independent body running the election or an impartial media.
And there was "undue interference of state authorities" in the vote, the 56-member OSCE said in a statement.
As Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov looked on, Clinton told the group the United States had "serious concern about the conduct of the elections," and called for an investigation of reported fraud and intimidation.
"The Russian people, like people everywhere, deserve the right to have their voices heard and their votes counted," Clinton said. "And that means they deserve free, fair, transparent elections and leaders who are accountable to them."
Alla Eshchenko reported from Moscow; Elise Labott reported from Vilnius, Lithuania.
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