Putin's party scrapes win amid claims of vote-rigging

Russia's ruling party was accused today of trying to rig parliamentary elections as prime minister Vladimir Putin suffered heavy losses but remained in power.

The result proved a humiliating setback for Mr Putin. The party saw its support fall from 64 per cent four years ago to just below 50 per cent.

Electoral Commission head Vladimir Churov said United Russia should have a slim majority in the Duma - Russia's lower legislative house - with 238 seats out of 450. But the party will lose the two-thirds majority that allows it to change the constitution unchallenged.

As results were announced angry scenes erupted in Russian cities, with protesters clashing with police, and opposition parties accusing the former KGB spy's party of voting violations. Yesterday police swooped on activists in Moscow and St Petersburg, arresting more than 170.

Russia's only independent election monitoring group, Golos, which is funded by US and European grants, has come under heavy pressure, with Mr Putin accusing Western governments of trying to influence the election, and likening recipients of Western aid to Judas.

The Golos website was taken down by hackers yesterday as Russians went to the polls. But director Liliya Shibanova said it fielded more than 2,000 observers, many reporting dozens of alleged violations.

These included "cruise" or "carousel" voting, in which people are bused to multiple polling stations. Many voters complained they were forced to get absentee ballots and hand them over to their bosses.

Opposition leader Boris Nemtsov said Mr Putin's "honeymoon" was over: "He needs to hold an honest presidential election and allow opposition candidates to register for the race, if he doesn't want to be booed from Kamchatka to Kaliningrad."

International monitors also said the election has been marred by violations. The group, from the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe and the Council of Europe, said there had been "limited political competition and a lack of fairness," and there were "instances of apparent manipulation, including several serious indications of ballot box stuffing".

Mr Putin tried to put a positive spin on the outcome, saying "we can ensure the stable development of the country with this result". But he appeared glum when speaking to supporters at United Russia headquarters.

The Communist Party benefited most, with predictions it would get nearly 20 per cent of the vote, up from less than 12 per cent four years ago. The socialist Just Russia and the nationalist Liberal Democratic Party were also expected to increase their representation.

Mr Putin is still expected to win the presidential election in March.