MOSCOW – A group of leading celebrities have created a League of Voters to battle fraud in Russia’s presidential elections in March.

The group, founded by 16 cultural luminaries including the popular author Boris Akunin, hopes to beef up monitoring to ensure a fair vote and prevent a repeat of the disputed parliamentary elections in December.

The group’s founding, which has been welcomed by independent election observers, was launched today.

Tens of thousands of Russians took to the streets to protest alleged fraud in the December 4 parliamentary elections, in which the ruling United Russian party won a slim majority of seats in the State Duma.

Presidential elections, in which Prime Minsiter Vladimir Putin is seeking to return to the Kremlin, are scheduled for March 4.

compiled from agency reports

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