President Dmitry Medvedev convened Tuesday the first session of Russia's newly-elected parliament despite a wave of protests over alleged fraud that helped the ruling party cling on to its majority. Medvedev told the heads of parliament's four factions in a special meeting that the first session will be held on December 21 even while checks into various vote-fixing reports continue.
"Today I am signing a decree for the first session of the Duma to be held on December 21," Medvedev said. "Far from everyone is happy with the election results ... but that is always the case." The decision ends any opposition hopes of forcing the authorities to call a re-run of a December 4 vote that handed strongman Vladimir Putin's ruling United Russia part a slim majority, despite sharply reduced support.
The outcome was accompanied by a flood of footage shot by voters at polling stations and posted on the Internet appearing to show ballot boxes filled with votes before polling began hours and officials filling in fake results by hand. The vote had been seen as a test of Putin's decision return to the Kremlin in March presidential elections and the worse-than-expected result and subsequent protests appear to have caught the state off guard. Medvedev said he still intended to deliver his annual address to the nation on December 22.
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