Vladimir Putins Party Loses A THIRD Of Seats In Moscow Election Bloodbath

(The Sun) Mark Lodge Sep. 9 2019 13:15 VLADIMIR Putins United Russia party has sensationally lost a THIRD of its seats in Moscow in a local election bloodbath. Sundays poll was one of the most closely watched regional elections in years after many opposition candidates were excluded triggering the capitals biggest protests in nearly a decade. The vote was seen by outspoken opposition politician Alexei Navalny and his allies as an opportunity to make inroads against United Russia ahead of the 2021 national election. Protests erupted in mid-July after the Central Election Commission refused to register a large number of opposition candidates saying they had failed to collect enough signatures from genuine backers. The excluded candidates including allies of Navalny slammed the move claiming it was designed to stop them winning seats in Moscows parliament. Navalny advised his supporters to vote tactically across Russia for the candidate with the best chance of defeating Putins party.