Rusija: Na lokalnim izborima ojačali komunisti i desničari

https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-russia-politics/fury-over-pension-changes-hurts-putin-allies-in-russian-regional-elections-idUKKCN1LQ1M9


Fury over pension changes hurts Putin allies in Russian regional elections
[url=safari-reader://uk.reuters.com/journalists/polina-nikolskaya]Polina Nikolskaya[/url]
VLADIVOSTOK, Russia/MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia’s ruling United Russia Party suffered a rare setback in regional elections despite winning most of the seats, a reversal its leaders and election chiefs blamed on unpopular plans to raise the pension age. 

Police officers block a street to prevent a rally against planned increases to the nationwide pension age in Krasnodar, Russia September 9, 2018. Picture taken September 9, 2018. REUTERS/Natalya Kazhan 

The results in weekend voting for heads of about one third of Russia’s regions were the worst for United Russia, which backs President Vladimir Putin, since elections for regional leaders were re-introduced in 2012. 
Four Kremlin-backed candidates were forced into run-off votes. Two were beaten into second place — by a communist and a nationalist — and two finished first but failed to win the more than 50 percent of votes needed for outright victory. 
Opponents of the pension reforms, which envisage raising the retirement age for men to 65 from 60 and to 60 from 55 for women, staged protests across Russia as voting took place. 
Police detained just over 1,000 people, OVD-Info, a rights organisation that monitors detentions, said. Jailed opposition leader Alexei Navalny had called for the protests. 
Ella Pamfilova, the head of the Central Election Commission, said it was obvious the planned pension changes had prompted voters to register their discontent at the ballot box, something she said was a sign of genuine political competition. 
“It’s a good lesson for everyone,” she told a news conference. “It’s very useful for the party of power to get a bit of a jolt.” 

Russia's President Vladimir Putin casts his ballot during mayoral election at a polling station in Moscow, Russia September 9, 2018. Sputnik/Alexei Nikolsky/Kremlin via REUTERS 

Speaking in the far eastern city of Vladivostok, Putin told government officials he was unfazed by the fact that re-runs would be needed in four regions. 
“It’s an absolutely normal phenomenon,” he said. 
The region the includes Vladivistok is one of those where a second vote will be required. The man Putin appointed acting governor there last year failed to pass the 50-percent threshold on Sunday after a communist won almost a quarter of the votes. 
“You don’t need to hunt for complex explanations as to why this happened,” said Ivan, a voter in Vladivostok who declined to give his surname. “Everything can be explained by the fall in the authorities’ popularity because of pension reform.” 
United Russia also lost ground to the Communist Party and the nationalist Liberal Democratic Party of Russia (LDPR) in some areas in weekend elections to regional parliaments.