Russian Parties Say Shut Out Of Moscow Duma Election

MOSCOW -- The leader of Russia's Right Cause Party has called the Moscow City Duma election campaign a farce, RFE/RL's Russian Service reports.

Leonid Gozman told RFE/RL that the local election commission has registered only one candidate from his party to compete in the elections. Four party members had applied.

Gozman also noted that registration was also refused to seven candidates of the opposition Solidarity movement.

Solidarity member and former Deputy Energy Minister Vladimir Milov said that the election commission had determined that 30 percent of the signatures necessary to register as a candidate -- including his own -- had been falsified.

The elections for the 35 seats in the Moscow City Duma are scheduled for October 11.

The post of mayor -- which was previously directly elected by the public in Moscow -- must now be approved by the city duma.