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Russia’s electing new parliament

In Kamchatka territory, 16,643 people or 6.61 % of the total number of voters had cast their ballots at elections to the Russian State Duma by 10:00 local time on Sunday

Photo ITAR-TASS

Photo ITAR-TASS

VLADIVOSTOK, December 4 (Itar-Tass) — The head of the electoral commission of the Magadan region, Vladimir Yepifanov, said that 6.54 percent of voters had voted in the Kolyma district by 10:00 local time.

This time, the voters are bit more active than at the State Duma elections in 2007. Yepifanov believes that nice and clear weather is contributing to a higher voter turnout. There's just minus two degrees in Magadan.

In Kamchatka territory, 16,643 people or 6.61 % of the total number of voters had cast their ballots at elections to the Russian State Duma by 10:00 local time on Sunday.

Alongside with the federal elections, the residents of the Kamchatka territory are electing 28 deputies to the territory’s Legislative Assembly. Five political parties are taking part in the race: the United Russia party, the Communist Party of Russia, the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia (LDPR), the Just Russia party and Patriots of Russia. About nine people are running for each seat in the local parliament.

The Kamchatka electoral commission reports that voters are being as active as at the previous State Duma elections in 2007.

The voting in Sakhalin Island is taking place in conditions of a snow storm: 5.54% voters have voted in Sakhalin and the Kurile Islands by 10:00 local times. The residents in South Kuril island showed the highest degree of activity despite a storm warning: 13.14% of voters have voted in two hours on the islands of Kunashir and Shikotan.

The lowest voter activity has been registered in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk where 3.84 percent of voters have turned up.

In the Primorye region, 4.79% of voters have cast their ballots by 10:00 local time.

Voters in the Khabarovsk territory are less active than at parliamentary elections in December 2007: 4.9% of voters have turned up at polling stations in the first two hours of voting compared to 7% in December 2007.

Eight foreign observers from the neighboring Asia-Pacific countries, Belarus, Norway, the Netherlands, the United States and Finland are monitoring the elections in the Khabarovsk territory.

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