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| Sergey
Grachev / MT
Gubernatorial candidate
Valentina Matviyenko, Putin's envoy to northwestern Russia, casting
her ballot Sunday in St. Petersburg. |
ST. PETERSBURG -- St. Petersburg residents voted for a new governor Sunday
in a race that has ignited accusations of inappropriate interference by
President Vladimir Putin.
Nine candidates, including Valentina Matviyenko, Putin's envoy to the Northwest
Federal District, and St. Petersburg Vice Governor Anna Markova were taking
part in the vote, called after Governor Vladimir Yakovlev resigned when
Putin named him deputy prime minister.
By late afternoon, the turnout passed the 20 percent necessary for the
election to be declared valid, though voters were slower to come to the
polls than in past elections. As of 5 p.m., turnout stood at 20.02 percent
of the city's 3.7 million eligible voters, the election committee said.
If no candidate receives more than 50 percent of the vote, a runoff will
be held.
St. Petersburg police spokesman Pavel Rayevsky said only minor infractions
had been reported. One activist was detained for violating an election-day
ban on campaigning, and a bunch of balloons featuring campaign slogans
were confiscated. Police also briefly detained a group of sociologists
for conducting exit polls too close to polling stations, he said.
The campaign has seen numerous allegations of foul play. Some observers
say Putin broke election laws by endorsing Matviyenko this month.
Markova sued Matviyenko over the incident. The Supreme Court rejected
the complaint Friday.
Matviyenko's opponents have also complained of harassment. On Friday,
two attackers broke into a district office of Markova's campaign, beating
a security guard and stealing a database of activists' names, the campaign
said.
St. Petersburg residents also voted Sunday for a new Legislative Assembly.
Elsewhere, gubernatorial polls were held Sunday in the regions of Leningrad,
Tomsk and Sverdlovsk.
See also:
Gubernatorial
Elections in St. Petersburg 2003
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