MOSCOW, October 15 (RIA Novosti) - Two of the Russian parties that walked out of parliament in protest against Sunday's election results have said they may return on Friday.
Three parties in the lower house of parliament - the Communists, the ultra-nationalist LDPR, and the Kremlin-backed left-leaning party A Just Russia - walked out of a State Duma session in protest against alleged violations in the October 11 local election, which the ruling United Russia party won by a landslide.
The LDPR (Liberal Democratic Party of Russia) and A Just Russia have said they may end their boycott, but the Communists have said they will continue to protest.
"Following internal consultations and a faction meeting at 9:30 on Friday, the leadership is tending towards the view that we will attend the plenary session," said Deputy Speaker Alexander Babakov, a member of A Just Russia.
State Duma Speaker Boris Gryzlov said the party's demand to invite the head of Russia's Central Election Commission, Vladimir Churov, to address the State Duma on Friday, was included into the agenda of Friday's session. Another demand - to give each parliamentary faction five minutes at the start of each session to speak on key issues not on the agenda - will also be discussed on Friday.
Babakov said his party has already submitted all reports concerning violations during the vote to law-enforcement bodies for further investigation.
An unidentified source in the LDPR also said the party would attend Friday's plenary session.
"It will be announced soon," the source said.
The report has yet to be officially confirmed.
The LDPR is demanding a nationwide recount and Gryzlov's resignation. It also says the polls in Moscow, Central Russia's Tula Region and the Volga Republic of Mari El should be declared invalid, and a new vote scheduled for March 2010.
Igor Lebedev, a leader of the LDPR faction in the State Duma, said party chairman Vladimir Zhirinovsky held a phone conversation with the Russian president late on Wednesday, without giving any further details.
The Communists said a meeting with the Russian president has already been agreed. However, they said they do not plan to attend Friday's State Duma session.
A spokeswoman for the Russian president said the meeting could be held by the end of next week. The meeting has earlier been scheduled for September 27.
"We will continue our fight," party leader Gennady Zyuganov said.
