Siberian poll results declared invalid

Election officials in the vast Siberian region of Krasnoyarsk today invalidated the results of this month’s local election, citing numerous campaign and electoral violations, an official said.

“All possible kinds of violations have been committed by both sides,” said an official in the Krasnoyarsk regional election commission, who spoke on condition of anonymity. He did not specify what kinds of violations had been committed, but said that evidence would be sent to the local prosecutor for investigation.

Alexander Khloponin, former chief of metals giant Norilsk Nickel and current head of the Arctic Taimyr region, which is part of Krasnoyarsk, won a runoff last Sunday against regional assembly speaker Alexander Uss. The runoff followed a first round of voting in early September, in which no candidate won 50% of the vote.

The election was called to replace Krasnoyarsk Governor Alexander Lebed, a military hero and former presidential candidate who was killed in a helicopter crash in April.

The Interfax news agency said the election commission cited numerous cases of campaign violations, voter intimidation, and voting irregularities, and scheduled a new election for March of next year.

Khloponin said the commission’s decision violated ”democratic principles” and was the result of “internal political pressure,” according to Interfax. He said he was ready to challenge the decision in court if necessary.

Alexander Veshnyakov, the chairman of Russia’s Central Election Commission, said the decision to annul the Krasnoyarsk election was “doubtful, to put it mildly” and said the reports he had received from the region “did not suggest there were any reason for annulling the election results,” Interfax reported. Federal election officials are flying to Krasnoyarsk to review the decision, he said.