Russia’s December 4 parliamentary elections proved that the country needs political reform, ex-finance minister Alexei Kudrin said on Tuesday.
“These elections have, let’s say, drawn a line under a certain period, when we need to say we need political reform,” Kudrin told Ekho Moskvy radio.
“I am not ready to agree with the words of [President Dmitry] Medvedev or [Prime Minister Vladimir] Putin that Russia has an established political system,” he said.
Earlier Kudrin said he had not voted for the ruling United Russia party that won nearly half of the vote at the State Duma elections and added that he is ready to take part in establishing a new, right-of-center political project.
Kudrin said Russia needs new political forces, and noted that the seven-percent election threshold for parties to win seats in the Duma is too high.
“Even five percent is too much. The threshold should be much lower. Three percent is over a million people, so this is a sufficient force. Political representation needs to be expanded,” he said.
Kudrin also said the December 4 vote should be recounted at “hundreds” of polling places in some regions.
The election to the lower house saw the ruling United Russia party win 49.32 percent of the vote, allowing it to retain a simple majority in the lower house. The Communist Party (KPRF) gained 19.19 percent, A Just Russia garnered 13.24 percent, and Liberal Democrats (LDPR) - 11.67 percent.
Independent observers and critics claimed the vote was slanted in favor of United Russia and cited incidents of ballot stuffing. Tens of thousands went to the streets to protest the vote results. The authorities said the elections were fair and irregularities were minor, pledging to investigate all violations.
