UFA, June 26 (RIA Novosti, Svetlana Ivanova) - Elections to municipal and regional councils in 53 of 104 cities and regions in Bashkortostan, a Russian republic in the south of Urals, are underway, the republic's Central Election Commission said today.
A total of 1,783 candidates are contending for 714 seats in city and regional councils. Some 150 candidates contend for 35 seats in Ufa, the capital of Bashkortostan. Over 50 candidates refused to participate or were not allowed to run in the elections on court decisions.
There are 1,104 election commissions in the republic.
Elections to the remaining bodies of local self-government will be held in October.
Additional elections to the republic's parliament on four districts are underway today as well.
President of Bashkortostan Murtaza Rakhimov, who voted in the morning at his polling station, told journalists that "responsible people who would be guided by the interests of the whole nation" should be elected.
"We have seen that the election campaign was aggressive. But I am convinced that the residents of our republic have learned to tell black from white, and truly the worthiest candidates will be vested with power," said the president.
