Pro-Kremlin party maintains lead in Chechnya elections

GROZNY, November 29 (RIA Novosti) - Russia's ruling party, United Russia, has maintained its substantial lead in the parliamentary elections in the North Caucasus republic of Chechnya with votes from 306 of 430 polling stations counted as of 5 a.m. GMT Tuesday, the local election commission chairman said.

Ismail Baikhanov said that according to preliminary results from Sunday's poll for the 58-seat bicameral parliament, the party had already taken 60.38% of the vote, while the Communist Party of the Russian Federation was in second place with 12.05% of the vote, and the Union of Right Forces (SPS) was third with 11.14%.

The other five parties contesting the poll have not passed the 5% threshold needed to take up seats in the legislature. The Eurasian Union party has gained 4.54% of the vote, Yabloko 3.50%, Rodina (Motherland) 2.65%, the Liberal-Democratic Party of Russia (LDPR) 1.74%, and the People's Will party 1.25%.

In all, 58 deputies are to be elected, including 20 on party lists and 38 in single-member constituencies. The lower chamber of the republic's parliament, the Popular Assembly, will have 40 deputies and the upper chamber, the Republic's Council, 18 deputies.