Russian ruling party wins gubernatorial elections in 5 regions

MOSCOW - Candidates backed by Russia's ruling party the United Russia won the gubernatorial elections in five regions, the country's Central Election Commission (CEC) said Monday.

According to preliminary results of the ballots counting, the United Russia party won the direct governors elections at the Amur Region in the Far East, the Bryansk and Ryazan Regions in central area, the Belgorod Region in the west and the Novgorod Region in the north, the CEC said in a live broadcast statement.

Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said on Sunday that those who expected a failure of the United Russia in regional elections did not see it come true.

"Everyone expected the fiasco of the party after the December elections - let's frankly admit it. Not because the party did so poorly but everyone said it is a declining trend, 'everything is getting out of hand and losing ground'. Nothing of the kind happened," he said during a video conference at the headquarters of the United Russia.

As the leader of the party, Medvedev called on fellow members who took part in the regional elections to fulfill their campaign promises.

"We should remember the party's promises and the voters' mandates. We must remember what regional and municipal authorities must do," he said.

The multilevel elections, which kicked off in 77 out of 83 regions across the country on the "single voting day" on Sunday, involved more than 22 million people or one fifth of the registered voters in the country, according to the CEC.