DATE=12/19/1999
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=DUMA ELECTIONS
NUMBER=2-257287
BYLINE=BILL GASPERINI
DATELINE=MOSCOW
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: Millions of voters in Russia are casting
ballots today to elect a new 450-seat parliament, or
Duma. The vote comes after a campaign dominated by
mudslinging in the media and as a brutal war rages in
the southern Chechen
region. Bill Gasperini has more from Moscow.
//Act. of sound of ballots being put into poll boxes,
fade under//
Voting has been taking place all across Russia's
eleven time zones as millions of people mark their
choices on ballot sheets before placing them inside
wooden poll boxes.
Voters are selecting from a dizzying array of over 26
parties for the 450 seats in the Duma, Russia's lower
house of parliament.
Only six of those parties are likely to get the
minimum five percent support in order to
enter the Duma, and opinion polls suggest the
Communists will probably win the largest bloc of
seats.
The election has in essence become a race for second
place, with a newly-formed party called Unity likely
to poll just behind the Communists.
Unity is strongly backed by the Kremlin and popular
Prime Minister Vladimir Putin in a challenge to an
opposition bloc called Fatherland, likely to come in
third.
Fatherland is led by former Prime Minister Yevgeny
Primakov and Moscow's powerful mayor Yuri Luzkhkov,
who have both been hurt by scathing attacks in Russian
media.
Powerful figures in the Kremlin and Russia's business
community have rallied to prevent the two opposition
leaders from threatening their grip on power.
Another dominant factor is the bloody war in Chechnya,
which has strongly boosted the political fortunes of
Prime Minister Putin.
Mr. Putin's strong stand against Chechen militants has
found resonance among
many Russians who are weary of corruption and years of
political uncertainty.
Many analysts say Mr. Putin could well become Russia's
next president in the more important presidential
elections scheduled for next summer.
In a sense, the Duma voting is regarded as something
of a dress rehearsal
for that crucial election in six months time. (Signed)
NEB/BG/PLM
19-Dec-1999 05:25 AM EDT (19-Dec-1999 1025 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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