Medvedev: Party should represent 'masses'

MOSCOW, May 25 (UPI) -- Russia's ruling United Russia party should be a "party representing the broad masses," not one "imposed from high up," party leader Dmitry Medvedev said Friday.

Medvedev, the prime minister, said United Russia should choose its leaders and candidates for jobs in the executive branch through elections, RIA Novosti reported.

"We need significant and obvious change to maintain our leadership," Medvedev said at a party congress in Moscow. "The party needs to become more transparent.

"It must be seen … not as a party imposed from high up, though with popular leaders -- which is not so bad, per se -- but as a party representing the interests of the broad masses."

Medvedev took over the party leadership from Vladimir Putin, now the country's president.

Medvedev said the party should rely on secret ballots to pick its candidates for speaker of the State Duma, the lower house of Parliament, and leaders of party factions and branches as well as regional legislatures and governor vacancies.

He said federal and regional party leaders should face election every five years.

Medvedev said United Russia also should have debates with political opponents. The party has been reluctant to do so, he said.

"These are unprecedented proposals," Medvedev said. "I'm sure we'll raise a lot of bumps this way, we'll have some staff problems, problems with offended people slamming the door on us."

United Russia won a narrow majority in the State Duma in December elections that drew widespread fraud allegations.

United Russia, which some critics have called "the party of crooks and thieves," had a 50 percent support rating in May, state-run pollster VTsIOM said.