Mintimer Shaimiev: no less that 12 deputies from Tatarstan will be in the new State Duma

December 3, Co-Chairman of the Higher Council of the United Russia party Mintimer Shaimiev held a press conference that focused on preliminary results of the elections to the fifth Russian State Duma.
“The people demonstrated a very active position in voting”, Mintimer Shaimiev emphasized. “It was the first time the youth were very active. It hadn’t happen before. Young people were aware they were voting for their present and future”.
“The turnout was about 84 percent in the republic. This wasn’t the case in the previous parliamentary and presidential elections. United Russia polled 81.02 percent of the vote, that is considerably more than in 2003. United Russia is the only party that overcame the 7-percent barrier. It is similar to the previous elections to the RT State Council”, the head of the republic said.
Answering the questions, Mintimer Shaimiev shared with journalists his opinion on ideological benchmarks of the party of power. “Remaining the party of all, I believe that United Russia should be a more right-of-centre party. The state that is aiming at democratization and building a civil society may conduct reforms only if they are right-winged”.
“The elections were an act of support for the present head of state – Vladimir Putin - and the party he is relying on in his work. It lays great responsibility on us”, the President noted.