"All parties will be rivals of the LDPR: we find ourselves in opposition both to the Communist Party (KPRF), United Russia, Just Russia, the Union of Right Forces (SPS) and Yabloko," Vladimir Zhirinovsky said.
The election campaign for the lower house of Russia's parliament officially began Wednesday, less than three months before the December 2 polls.
The outspoken nationalist lawmaker and a deputy speaker of the State Duma said that parliamentary elections would be more open than in 2003, but doubted whether they would be fair.
"The government is not ready for free and fair elections," he said, adding that the political environment in Russia is greatly influenced by administrative leverage, false data and manipulated popularity ratings.
"The elections won't be absolutely free, but one can hope they will be fairer and more open than the three latest campaigns of 1995, 1999 and 2003," he said.
Meanwhile, he said that developing parliamentary democracy in Russia demands dropping the minimum threshold to 5% or even 3%.
Under the new election legislation, all 450 members of parliament will be elected on party lists, with a minimum threshold of 7% for political parties.
The law prohibits the formation of election blocs, has removed the option "against all candidates" from ballot papers, and scrapped the minimum voter turnout requirement.
A total of 15 parties are expected to run in the election, and over 107 million voters had been registered as of July 1, which is 600,000 fewer than the previous Duma elections in 2003. About $160 million has been allocated from federal budget for the event.
A poll conducted by the state Public Opinion Center (VTsIOM) suggests only four parties have any chance of passing the 7% barrier to make it to the legislature -- the pro-Kremlin United Russia party, the Communist Party (KPRF), the newly established left-wing Just Russia, and LDPR.
