Communists rally against election results

Hundreds of Russian Communist Party members protested on the streets of Moscow this month's local election results.

The rally was part of a nationwide protest campaign against what communists call “riggings” during the elections that took place on October 11 when the United Russia Party received a clear majority.

"We have launched a nation-wide action which spreads from Kaliningrad to Vladivostok,” said Vladimir Kashin, Vice Chairman of the party Central Committee. “Our main slogan is "For Honest Elections!"

Communist leader Gennady Zyuganov said that while the elections should have been “a form of a dialogue between power and opposition”, the United Russia “turned it into a farce.”

He announced that the party would be calling on the country's Electoral Commission head to resign, as well as for establishing a presidential commission to investigate the election results.

Supporters of other opposition parties, including democratic Yabloko, also took part in the demonstration.

The rally comes in the aftermath of the opposition protest over the elections.

On October, 14 three opposition parties, including the Communists, Liberal Democrats and Fair Russia, walked out of the lower house of the Russian parliament, the State Duma, in protest over the election results. They demanded urgent meeting with Russian president Dmitry Medvedev.

Later, all parties returned to the Duma sessions, though the Communists returned later than the rest. On October 23, the head of the Central Election Committee, Vladimir Churov, is expected to give a report on the elections.