The branch's establishment was earlier postponed for almost two months because a Moscow court in January sanctioned the arrest of candidate for branch leadership Yevgeny Chichvarkin, former co-owner of a top cell phone retailer Euroset, who is currently in the U.K.
Party co-chairman Georgy Bovt said Saturday the Moscow branch currently numbers 550 people.
The branch elected on Saturday well-known lawyer Igor Trunov as its chairman. A total of 330 delegates of the branch's constituent conference voted for Trunov and 9 voted against him.
The political council of the Moscow branch consists of 26 people, and Chichvarkin is among them despite the scandal.
Charges against Chichvarkin were brought as part of an earlier kidnapping case against former Euroset vice president Boris Levin and two other company officials.
Chichvarkin is suspected of authorizing the 2003 abduction of Euroset's shipping agent, Andrei Vlaskin, who allegedly stole large quantities of mobile phones from the company and then sold them on through a retail outlet he had set up for the purpose.
Trunov told RIA Novosti Saturday that he was ready to yield his new post to Chichvarkin should party members make the decision. Party leaders, however, earlier said the Moscow branch could not be headed by anyone who lived abroad.
