Russians vote in nationwide parliamentary poll

[Gerald]

Russians are voting in parliamentary elections that are expected to see Prime Minister Vladimir's United Russia maintain its majority.There have been allegations of violations of election law, with Russia's only independent monitoring group, Golos, logging 5,300 complaints.Its head, Lilya Shibanova, was held at a Moscow airport after refusing to hand over her laptop.Mr Putin has accused foreign countries of meddling in election preparations.The Golos monitors, who are non-party political, are funded largely by the US and EU.Russian MPs have questioned why the foreign-funded organisation - whose name means "voice" or "vote" - is allowed to monitor Russian elections.

Long voting day-Voting for representation in the country's 450-seat chamber takes place across Russia's nine time zones with polls closing at 1700GMT on Sunday in Kaliningrad.As people in European Russia were going to bed, polls were opening in the far east.In Vladivostok, sailors from Russia's Pacific fleet were among those queuing to vote.Warrant Officer Nikolai Ponomaryov said he was voting for United Russia, because the party was supporting the armed forces.In the far north, above the Arctic circle, voters braved temperatures of -26C to cast their ballots. Polling stations have now opened in the capital, Moscow.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-16020632


Note: 4 December 2011 Last updated at 05:19 GMT