MOSCOW, November 30 (RIA Novosti) - An OSCE observer said on Friday that President Vladimir Putin's decision to head the pro-Kremlin United Russia party list will not lead to ballot rigging at the December 2 parliamentary elections.
Kimmo Kiljunen, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe Parliamentary Assembly's special representative for Central Asia, said the move is standard practice in several countries whose presidents back particular parties.
However, he said that Putin's decision will have a "huge impact" on the voting results.
Representatives of Russian political parties met with a group of international observers earlier on Friday in the State Duma, parliament's lower house.
