The New Nation - Internet Edition

AFP, Moscow

Dmitry Medvedev won a landslide victory in Russia's presidential election to replace Vladimir Putin, officials said Monday, but accusations of rigging overshadowed the result. Near complete results gave Medvedev 70.2 percent of Sunday's vote, crushing his nearest of three rivals, Communist Party leader Gennady Zyuganov, who won 17.8 percent, the central elections commission said. Allegations that the landslide was stage-managed by the Kremlin raised questions at home and internationally over the legitimacy of the election. Russia's "democratic potential" was unfulfilled in the presidential election won by Vladimir Putin's successor Dmitry Medvedev, the head of the sole Western observer mission said Monday. "The results of the presidential election are a reflection of the will of an electorate whose democratic potential was unfortunately not tapped," said Andreas Gross, from the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE).