Hillary Clinton concerned about Russia's parliamentary electionsDecember 5, 2011 - 21:33 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says the US has "serious concerns" about the conduct of Russia's parliamentary elections. "We do have serious concerns about the conduct of the elections," Clinton told a press conference, citing a preliminary report by the OSCE about alleged attempts to stuff ballot boxes and manipulate voter lists. She said she expected to be briefed after she arrives later Monday, December 5, at OSCE headquarters in Vilnius. "We are also concerned by reports that independent Russian election observers... were harassed and had cyber attacks on their websites," she said. With 96 per cent of the vote counted, the country's Central Election Commission said it had won 49.5 per cent of the vote, technically short of a simple majority but just enough to scrape a majority of seats in the Duma, the lower house of parliament. Barring the unexpected, United Russia is forecast to control 238 seats in the 450-seat Duma for the next five years, down from 315 seats previously, The telegraph reported. Top stories Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". The earthquake caused a temporary blackout, damaged many buildings and closed a number of rural roads. Partner news | Kazakhstan welcomes Yerevan, Baku’s agreement to meet in Almaty Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has welcomed the agreement of Baku and Yerevan to hold negotiations in Almaty. Armenia offers to temporarily host, preserve Gaza manuscripts The Armenian Foreign Minister has said Yerevan is ready to help preserve manuscripts from the conflict zone in Gaza. Aliyev says no need for mediators in Armenia-Azerbaijan process Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev believes that Baku and Yerevan do not mediators in the process of normalizing relations. Aram I supports Karekin II’s “patriotic position” Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia Aram I has expressed support for the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin. |