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Communist supporters protests against the election result
Photo: ALEXANDER NEMENOV / AFP
A good week after the Russian parliamentary elections, which were overshadowed by allegations of manipulation, the Communist Party filed a first lawsuit in connection with votes cast online.
The candidate Mikhail Lobanov is calling for the cancellation of electronic ballots in his Moscow constituency, a court in the Russian capital confirmed on Monday evening, according to the Interfax agency.
The communist party leader, Gennady Zyuganov, had previously announced that all 15 Moscow candidates wanted to sue.
From September 17 to 19, people in several regions were able to vote online for the first time on the composition of the new State Duma - including in Moscow.
Because the results of the e-voting were published there quite late and influenced the final result in favor of the Kremlin party United Russia, the opposition suspected fraud.
According to the online count, the communists, who ended up in second place, suddenly lost many mandates that were believed to be safe in Moscow.
more on the subject
Parliamentary elections in Russia: "Election observers were treated like hostile elements" An interview by Christina Hebel, Moscow
Parliamentary elections in Russia: Many votes for the communists - and massive complaintsBy Christian Esch and Christina Hebel, Moscow
The party's calls for street protests have already been followed twice by hundreds of people.
However, it is unlikely that the lawsuits will be successful.
President Vladimir Putin denied fraud allegations over the weekend.
The Kremlin party, which supports Putin's course, had officially won the vote with 49.8 percent.
The communists came to 18.9 percent.
Among other things, the German government is demanding clarification from Russia in view of the massive allegations of fraud.
There are "very serious indications from Russian opposition politicians and also from election observers" to "massive irregularities," said government spokesman Steffen Seibert.
"You have to take that seriously."
The Kremlin has meanwhile confirmed that two prominent ministers who had run as the top candidates for United Russia are not expected to exercise their mandates.
Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu remained in their posts, said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, according to the Ria Novosti state agency.
In the Kremlin Party, it is common for prominent politicians to be chosen for the top positions in the list, but then to hand over their seats in the Duma to party colleagues after the election.
slü / dpa
