Sunday, October 14, has become a big elections day for people in 77 Russia's regions. Its main trends are already obvious - low turnout and a ruling party's triumph.

      Russian people were voting for governors, local parliament deputies, and legislative assembly members. The preliminary results announced by the Central Elections Commission (CEC) suggest that voter turnout was lower this time than during regional elections held earlier. In some Far East regions by 6 p.m. local time (two hours before closing) not even 15 percent of the electorate had voted.

      Russia's ruling party "United Russia" has dominated election polls in almost all regions, preliminary results suggest. In the Amur, Belgorod, Bryansk, Ryazan, Saratov and other Russian regions the governor' posts were won by United Russia candidates.

      Russia's authorities say both trends indicate stability in the country's political life.

      The independent election monitoring associations have raised concerns about "violations" during these elections. Mass ballot stuffing are registered in Bashkortostan, the Saratov region and the Sakhalin region.