Russia President Criticizes Ruling Party Over Vote

Russia's President Dmitry Medvedev on Saturday sharply criticized officials in the ruling Kremlin-backed party for manipulating recent regional votes, saying it must learn to win fairly.

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, right, and Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, second...

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, right, and Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, second right, attend a meeting of premiers of former Soviet states in the Crimean resort of Yalta, Ukraine, Friday, Nov. 20, 2009. Putin promised Thursday to give struggling Ukraine a break by altering tough conditions in a natural gas contract, a move that could ease European supply concerns and give Putin's counterpart Yulia Tymoshenko a boost amid a bitter presidential campaign. (AP Photo/RIA-Novosti, Alexei Nikolsky, Pool)

(AP)

Medvedev's statement marked a rare criticism of the United Russia party led by his predecessor and mentor, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. United Russia is a power base for Putin, who has not ruled out a return to the presidency in 2012.

Speaking before a major party meeting in St. Petersburg also attended by Putin, Medvedev accused some of United Russia's regional branches of using their dominance and official connections to shape the election results in their favor.

He said the party must "free itself of such people and shed such bad political habits."

"Elections must express the people's will in free competition between ideas and programs, but they turn into a different story when democratic procedures are mixed with administrative ones," he said. He did not elaborate.

Most top federal and regional officials in Russia are United Russia members, and the opposition has accused the party of using its leverage to rig the vote. Independent election observers and opposition parties, including the Communists, protested what they said were mass electoral violations during October's local elections, citing evidence of multiple voting and ballot stuffing.

Opposition candidates claim they were hindered from campaigning and some were denied places on the ballot.

"Democracy isn't for parties, either ruling or opposition ones, it's for the people," Medvedev said. He added on a softer note that United Russia is strong enough to retain its dominance without undermining democratic standards.

"It's necessary to modernize the party, make it more flexible and open," Medvedev said. "You must learn to win in open struggle."

Both Putin and Medvedev previously defended United Russia in post-election comments, while adding that claims of violations need to be investigated and the culprits punished. Medvedev's statement Saturday was likely aimed at deflecting criticism of the vote rather than challenging Putin's dominance of Russia's political landscape.