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West-Siberian city of Omsk electing mayor

The registers of local residents qualified for voting contain almost 900,000 names

OMSK, June 17 (Itar-Tass) — Voters in the West-Siberian city of Omsk, which is home to around 1.2 million people, go to the polls Sunday to elect a new mayor.

The registers of local residents qualified for voting contain almost 900,000 names.

There are seven candidates competing for mayor’s office – Vyacheslav Dvorakovsky of the United Russia party, Viktor Zharkov of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, Yan Zelinsky of the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia, Irina Overina of A Just Russia party, Alexander Korotkov of the right-wing liberal Yabloko party, and the self-nominees Sergei Maslennikov and Igor Antropov.

The voting procedures are broadcast live at a special website of the city’s Electoral Commission.

The city has had to hold an early election of the mayor since the previous mayor, Viktor Shreider resigned after being elected a member of federal parliament December 4, 2011.

Tamara Povelyaikina, the chairperson of the City Electoral Commission said the voting was generally quiet and unmarred by whatever incidents, but several instances of improper conduct on the part of observers who have come from Moscow have been noticed.

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