Gorbachev does not back changes to election law

     MOSCOW, December 21 (RIA Novosti) - Former U.S.S.R. president, Mikhail Gorbachev, said he did not support the recent changes to election legislation adopted by the State Duma, the lower house of parliament.
     "I think they made a mistake," Gorbachev said speaking at the opening of a photographic exhibition in the Central Election Commission, adding that the election legislation needed to be improved.
     The December 2 parliamentary elections were held according to new election legislation, which saw the threshold for entry to the State Duma raised from 5 to 7%, and also canceled the "against all" option and minimum voter turnout requirements.
     At the parliamentary elections, United Russia, whose candidate list was headed by President Vladimir Putin, won 64% of votes.
     A joint statement by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and the Council of Europe said earlier the December 2 election "was not fair and failed to meet many OSCE and Council of Europe commitments and standards for democratic elections" - a statement the Russian Foreign Ministry dismissed as ungrounded.

RIA Novosti 21.12.2007