Top Russian communist disputes election

MOSCOW, March 22 (UPI) -- The head of the Communist Party in Russia wants a commission created to investigate alleged ballot-rigging in the recent presidential election.

Gennady Zyuganov, who lost to Dmitry Medvedev in the March 2 election, said he has filed requests for the special commission with the proper authorities in an attempt to facilitate an investigation, RIA Novosti said Saturday.

"We believe that a special commission of deputies from the State Duma (lower house of parliament), members of the Federation Council (upper house) and the Kremlin administration must be set up to investigate the facts relating to the election's total falsification," Zyuganov said.

The Russian press agency said about foreign observers have said the election was flawed yet suggested the 70.28 percent of votes Medvedev earned indicated the true will of the people.

The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe boycotted the election due to imposed electoral restrictions, RIA Novosti said.

Ultranationalist Vladimir Zhirinovsky earned 9.34 percent of the votes, compared with Zyuganov's 17.72 percent and Democratic Party leader Andrei Bogdanov's 1.29 percent.