Monitors criticise Russian poll

Source: BBC News

Mr Putin (left) congratulated Mr Medvedev late on Sunday

The only Western observer group monitoring Russia's presidential election says the poll was flawed.

Observers from the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) said Russia's "democratic potential" was unfulfilled.

Dmitry Medvedev, President Vladimir Putin's chosen successor, won a landslide victory in Sunday's poll.

His opponents say the poll was marred by violations, including coercion to vote - a charge denied by Moscow.

With nearly 100% of the ballots counted, Mr Medvedev won 70.23% of the vote, Russia's election commission said.

Mr Medvedev said he hoped to work in an "effective tandem" with Mr Putin as his prime minister.

Mr Medvedev's nearest rival was Communist leader Gennady Zyuganov, with 17.76% of the vote. He vowed to go to court over alleged fraud, Itar-Tass news agency reports.

'Like plebiscite on Putin'

"The results of the presidential election are a reflection of the will of an electorate whose democratic potential was, unfortunately, not tapped," the PACE 22-member observer mission said in a statement on Monday.

"In the elections, which had more the character of a plebiscite on the last eight years in this country, the people of Russia voted for the stability and continuity associated with the incumbent President [Putin] and the candidate promoted by him.

"The president-elect will have a solid mandate given to him by the majority of Russians," the statement said.

The PACE monitors also said that the "election repeated most of the flaws revealed during the Duma elections of December 2007". Mr Putin's United Russia party won a huge majority in the December parliamentary election.

"Candidate registration concerns could not have been accommodated, putting into question the degree of how free the election was.

"Equal access of the candidates to the media and the public sphere in general has not improved, putting into question the fairness of the election," the PACE observers said.

Last month, the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe - the continent's main election watchdog - decided to boycott the polls because of Moscow's restrictions.

In response, Russia's foreign ministry called the monitors' decision "unacceptable".

Only 300 international observers were monitoring the 96,000 polling stations on Sunday.

Russian poll observers said many state sector workers had been told by their bosses to vote.