Yabloko opposition party to hold protest rally in Moscow

A Russian opposition party, Yabloko, will on Saturday hold an authorized protest rally in downtown Moscow to discuss alleged fraud at the December 4 parliamentary elections in Russia. Protesters will demand new State Duma elections, Central Election Commission head Vladimir Churov’s dismissal and criminal responsibility for those found to be involved in vote rigging. The ruling United Russia party won the December 4 State Duma elections, gaining about 50 percent of the vote. In the first few days, thousands went to the streets to protest the vote results, which they say were falsified. Hundreds were arrested for failing to obey police orders. On December 10, rallies were held peacefully and only few people were detained. The protests gathered tens of thousands of people. Saturday’s rally will be held at the same venue - Bolotnaya Square. Independent observers and critics claimed the election to the lower house of parliament was slanted in favor of United Russia and cited incidents of ballot stuffing, but the authorities said the elections were fair and irregularities were minor, pledging to investigate all violations. Other civic organizations are expected to join today’s protests.