RUSSIA : Key Putin Ally Matviyenko Wins MP Seat; Selection/Election Called Fraudulent.

                                                BBC

     PM Putin ally Valentina Matviyenko won 95% of the vote for a seat in the parliament's upper house from St.Petersburg...and moved one step closer to become that body's speaker...the 3rd most powerful job in Russia.
     Yet opponents call her victory "fraudulent"... accomplished with widespread ballot-stuffing.
     As reported recently in the WSJ, some locals criticized the controversial and "devious" method that allowed her to run for the post.
    Since 2003, Matviyenko has been the unpopular governor of St. Petersburg, Russia's second largest city.