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Monday, December 7, 1998 Published at 13:03 GMT

World: Europe

Liberals dominate St Petersburg vote

Many more ballots were cast than in previous elections

Liberal candidates have taken a strong lead in local elections in Russia's second city, St. Petersburg, election officials say.

Preliminary results suggest six of the 50 assembly seats were won outright, five of them by liberals.

More than 30 liberals have also qualified for the run-off elections in two weeks' time, two-thirds of them from the Yabloko party.

Over 40% of eligible voters turned up to vote for a new civic assembly for the city - in stark contrast to last year's local elections which saw only a 14% turn-out.

The preliminary results have been interpreted as the first signs of a backlash against corruption, and the city's criminal image.

Hard-fought election

[ image: Voters are tired of corruption]
Voters are tired of corruption
More than 500 candidates competed in the most hard-fought local election in Russia's post-Communist history. The poll passed off smoothly despite allegations of vote-buying and intimidation, and earlier bomb threats and assaults.

Correspondents say the murder of the popular liberal politician, Galina Starovoitova, in St. Petersburg two weeks ago galvanised support for reformers even though her own little-known faction, Capital of the North, polled weakly.

Ms Starovoitova, a campaigner against high-level corruption, was shot dead two weeks ago outside her home. The pro-democracy parties contesting the election said their opponents are supported by the same criminal groups who arranged her murder.