Russia: Local elections test Kremlin party’s grip on power

Voters across Russia are voting in dozens of local elections that are seen as a huge test for the ruling pro-Kremlin party United Russia.

Nearly 160,000 candidates are vying for seats in local parliaments. Governors are also elected in many regions.

The polls take place just a few weeks after the alleged poisoning of opposition leader Alexei Navalny with Novichok.

His team alleges that this was done on the orders of President Vladimir Putin; the Kremlin denies any involvement.

Navalny had been backing United Russia’s key rivals, describing it as “the party of crooks and crooks.”

His team has been urging Russians to vote tactically to channel support toward the candidates best positioned to defeat United Russia.

In some places, these are people affiliated with Navalny himself, while in other regions they are communist or nationalist rivals, reports Sarah Rainsford of the BBC in Moscow.

Mr. Navalny’s camp believes this campaign could be the reason it was attacked, says our correspondent.

He adds that United Russia has become increasingly unpopular, associated with a controversial pension reform, falling income and corruption.

Russia’s electoral commission allowed early voting from September 11-12 due to the coronavirus outbreak.

But Sunday is the prime day for tens of millions of voters in 11 time zones, with more than 56,000 polling stations set up.

They are also seen as a test for the elections to the national parliament next year.

Authorities were charged after a tough response to the demonstrations, in which some of the more than 1,000 people detained received sentences of up to four years in prison.