An opposition MP has urged president Medvedev to trigger a vote of confidence in the governor of the Moscow Region. Gennady Gudkov, member of Just Russia political party, has also sent a letter to prosecutor general Yuri Chaika, calling for a probe into Boris Gromov.

Gudkov claims he has obtained a draft of a speech, which Gromov delivered to the members of regional government, heads of municipalities and members of the electoral commission, at the secret meeting on 6 October, according to Russian Mafia (rumafia.com).

According to the document, presented by Gudkov, Gromov ordered the officials to “take measures to secure a landslide victory for the United Russia party in the elections” to the State Duma on 4 December. He said that the heads of municipalities would be personally responsible for the outcome of the campaign. He called on them to raise funds for the United Russia campaign and watch the opponents’ activities in order to hinder the work of their staffs.

In an interview to Russian daily Kommersant, Gudkov said that the meeting in question took place on 6 October. The governor’s official web-page had “a meeting with the heads of municipalities” on Boris Gromov’s schedule for 6 October, without identifying the agenda.  

Gudkov also told the newspaper that Sergei Moiseev, press and information minister in the government of the Moscow Region, had “used the same rhetorics to instruct 56 chief editors of local media”.

“There is no party pluralism in the region. Oppositional parties, and anti-Gromov groups are banned. The regional authorities are getting ready to rig votes,” Gudkov told the newspaper.

Moscow Region municipalities affairs minister Vladimir Demeshkan has denied the allegations. He said that his ministry had prepared a draft of a speech for Gromov, but not for the secret meeting. In a speech the Moscow Region was portrayed as a “quickly developing region”, Demeshkan said.