Putin’s opponents claim Moscow win

Bloomberg

Russia’s ruling party swept gubernatorial elections, but the beleaguered opposition claimed a rare breakthrough in voting for district councils in Moscow after overcoming divisions.
A pro-democracy bloc got about 13 percent of the vote and won control of councils in several districts of the Russian capital. While the bodies have limited power, they’d been targeted by Kremlin opponents who’ve been largely blocked from participating in higher-pro-file races. “This is an unbelievable success,” the bloc’s campaign manager, Maxim Katz, told Echo Moskvy radio on Monday.
The party allied with President Vladimir Putin, who is expected to run for a fourth term next March, maintained its dominance at a national level. In 16 regions where governors were standing for election, United Russia’s candidates all won in the first round, state news service Tass reported. The ballots took place in 82 of 85 regions.
Ahead of the presidential vote and elections for Moscow mayor next year, the opposition saw the Mos-
cow municipal polls as a chance to break the Kremlin’s political monopoly, if only
on a local level.