Russian voters faced with limited political choice

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has called for greater political competition in his country. However, this seems unlikely at present with only communists and parties close to the Kremlin having much chance of success. In December, some 110 million eligible Russian voters will have the opportunity to take part in elections for the national parliament, the Duma. But only seven parties are authorized to take part and, of these, only three have any chance of entering parliament. Western observers and human rights activists say they do not expect the voting to be free, fair and democratic. This assessment is apparently shared by 54 percent of Russians. According to a survey by Moscow's Levada Center, almost two-thirds of Muscovites believe the Duma election is merely a struggle between bureaucratic clans, being about nothing more than access to the state budget and other national resources. In this atmosphere, the final phase of campaigning began on Friday, with several political factions also holding their party conferences. A man looks through a loupe at the logo of the pro-presidential party United Russia showed among others on the election posterFour parties gained seats in the Duma during the 2007 electionAs the largest party in the country, United Russia is the creation of Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. The right-wing conservative party, which has a Russian bear as its logo, was launched in December 2001 and within a few years had become the country's strongest political force. In the parliamentary elections in 2007, the Party of Power, as it's known in Russia, enjoyed a comfortable majority with 315 out of 450 seats. The party owes its popularity, not least, to Putin - still the most popular politician in the country. However, critics of United Russia - among them the former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev - say it increasingly reminds them of the former Communist Party from the Soviet Union. They claim Putin's party seeks to dominate and keep rivals away from the political scene. Communists as second power The Communist Party of the Russian Federation is the only opposition force in parliament and it will probably remain that way. According to surveys, that party could achieve up to 18 percent of the vote on December 4 and, in doing so, would improve upon their showing in the election four years ago in which they won 11.6 percent. That would again make them the second most powerful force in the Duma. Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin speaks at a congress of the United Russia party Putin may stand as a presidential candidate, but won't say at the momentThe party, which calls for a return to the Soviet Union, socialism and a planned economy, achieved its best results in the 1990s. In the 1996 presidential election, party leader Gennady Zyuganov even made it into the second round. The third power that will have no fears about gaining seats in the Duma is the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia (LDPR). Opinion polls show the party, under the right-wing populist Vladimir Zhirinovsky, should garner some 10 to 13 percent of the vote. For years, the party has campaigned against immigration and the party's slogan this time, "We are for the Russians," signals no change in approach. The LDPR usually remains loyal to the Kremlin line. For the party Just Russia, which has been represented in parliament in the past, there must be fears that this time it will be shut out. In polling, the party currently lies at just below the necessary 7 percent threshold which must be reached to gain seats in the chamber. The party describes itself as social democratic and is considered to be close to the Kremlin. Little chance for opposition Opposition voices critical of Russian policy continue to play a minor role. This is the repeated experience of pro-Western politicians, like the former Deputy Prime Minister Boris Nemtsov. Communist Leader Gennady Zyuganov leads a procession of red, hammer-and-sickle flagsCommunists still have some popularity and are the only real form of parliamentary oppositionThis year, he and his associates are excluded from taking part in the election. The Justice Ministry in June refused approval to his liberal People's Freedom Party, known as PARNAS. The party had allegedly included the names of deceased members on a party list that it had submitted. Party leaders, including former Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov, complained of harassment. According to polls, opposition parties are set to fall well behind. This also applies to the liberal Yabloko party, which has not managed a place in parliament since 2003. With pro-Western votes, the recently formed Right Cause party might have made an impact. However, the pro-business party went into meltdown ahead of the campaign. Leader Mikhail Prokhorov resigned, claiming his party had been infiltrated and had become a "puppet" of the Kremlin. The Kremlin denies this. Whoever is correct, it seems the party will no longer have a role to play on the Russian political scene.