BARNAUL, March 5 (RIA Novosti) - A local election official in Russia's Altai Territory was found dead in his apartment along with his wife and mother, a source in the Siberian region's administration said on Thursday.

The official said that Sergei Sytykh's body was discovered after a fire in his apartment believed to have been caused by a gas leak.

"According to preliminary information his wife and mother also died from gas poisoning," the official said.

Regional emergency services confirmed that they were working on the theory that Sytykh died from gas poisoning.

Investigators are currently working at the scene to try and establish the cause of the accident.

Elections to the local legislature were held in the Altai Territory on March 1. The former captain of Russia's national soccer team, Alexei Smertin, garnered most of the votes for the pro-Kremlin party United Russia.