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Medvedev seeks to consolidate position

MOSCOW: Media campaigning formally began on Saturday ahead of Russia’s March 2 presidential polls, an Election Commission spokeswoman said here.

The spokeswoman, who requested anonymity, confirmed the start of the one-month period in which state media are obliged by law to give space to campaigning and debates at no cost to candidates.

In reality there was almost no sign of overt campaigning as electoral broadcasting only begins on Monday, the first working day of the campaign period, the spokeswoman said.

State newspaper Rossiyskaya Gazeta carried the programme of the ruling United Russia party in eight closely typed columns, concluding: “We consider ourselves continuers of the patriotic tradition of the whole of Russia’s 1,000-year statehood.”

Few analysts doubt that victory will go to President Vladimir Putin’s favoured candidate, First Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev.

Mr. Medvedev was set to consolidate his domination of the airwaves on Saturday by taking part in 65th anniversary commemorations of the monumental Battle of Stalingrad, taking place in the southern city that was later renamed Volgograd.

His travels around the country have been given prominence in news broadcasts in recent weeks, although the Kremlin insists they qualify as work trips rather than electioneering.

Mr. Medvedev has opted not to take part in the scheduled television debating slots.

The other three candidates are the ultra-nationalist leader of the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia, Vladimir Zhirinovsky, Communist Party leader Gennady Zyuganov and Democratic Party leader Andrei Bogdanov.

Mr. Zyuganov and Mr. Zhirinovsky, though sometimes publicly critical of the Kremlin, have a record of loyalty in parliamentary votes. — AP

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