The regional ballots in Russia's 14 constituent members involving 31 million Russians, or about a third of the country's electorate, are regarded as a dress rehearsal for elections to the State Duma, the lower house of the Russian parliament, scheduled for December 2.
"The results to be registered at these [March 11 regional legislature] elections will, to some extent, reflect trends, which can be expected at the forthcoming elections of deputies to the State Duma," said Alexander Veshnyakov, chairman of the central electoral commission.
Elections to local legislatures will be held in the North Caucasus Republic of Dagestan, the Republic of Komi in the northwest Urals, the Stavropol Territory in southern Russia, the Vologda, Leningrad, Murmansk and Pskov Regions and the city of St. Petersburg in the northwest, the Moscow and Oryol Regions in central Russia, the Omsk, Tomsk and Tyumen Regions in West Siberia and the Samara Region in the Volga area.
Fourteen parties are running for legislatures Sunday, with the number of party lists varying from five (in the Vologda Region) to eight (the Oryol and Tomsk regions).
The pro-Kremlin United Russia party, the party Just Russia led by Sergei Mironov, speaker of the upper house of Russia's parliament, the Communist Party of Russia (KPRF) and the ultra-nationalist Liberal Democratic Party of Russia (LDPR), which are all represented in the State Duma, have registered their candidates in all the fourteen regions.
The liberal Yabloko party, which is critical of President Vladimir Putin's policies, was barred from elections in St. Petersburg, its main stronghold. Yabloko leaders said the refusal was a political move designed to neutralize the opposition.
In 2003, Yabloko won only four seats in Russia's 450-seat lower house of parliament. The party's poor performance was widely attributed to its failure to merge with another liberal bloc, the Union of Right Forces (SPS).
The pro-Putin United Russia party is set for a landslide win at the regional legislature elections as the country is reaping benefits from high world oil prices.
About 30,000 police are providing security at regional ballots, a spokesman for the Russian Interior Ministry said.
