United Russia to offer 3 candidates for St Petersburg governor

SOCHI, August 29 (Itar-Tass) -- The United Russia Party will offer to
President Dmitry Medvedev three candidates for St. Petersburg governor. A
meeting will be devoted to this issue at the Bocharov Ruchey summer
presidential residence in Sochi on Monday afternoon.
The president will choose one of three candidates, which Chairman of
the United Russia Supreme Council Boris Gryzlov named on Saturday. The
candidates are Presidential Plenipotentiary Representative in the Central
Federal District Georgy Poltavchenko, who is acting St. Petersburg
Governor, Vice-Governor Mikhail Oseyevsky, who is the chief of the
gubernatorial office, and Chairman of the St. Petersburg Legislative
Assembly Vadim Tyulpanov.
Valentina Matviyenko, who had been the St. Petersburg governor for
eight years, resigned ahead of time after the victory at the elections in
a municipal district in St. Petersburg. The municipal mandate allows her
to become a member of the Federation Council, where the senators pledged
to elect her as speaker.
The consultations over the candidates for St. Petersburg governor
lasted for about a week. The president accepted Matviyenko's resignation
on August 22. Georgy Poltavchenko was appointed as acting governor. He
retained the post of the presidential plenipotentiary representative in
the Central Federal District.
Under the Russian legislation the United Russia Party, which has a
majority in the St. Petersburg Legislative Assembly, should present to the
president the list of candidates for governor. The president will choose a
candidate, who will be put up for voting in the legislature of the Russian
northern capital.
Chairman of the St. Petersburg Legislative Assembly Vadim Tyulpanov
earlier expressed confidence that a new governor will be appointed within
a week after Valentina Matviyenko resigned. "United Russia will offer the
candidates to the president. I believe that a legitimate governor can be
appointed within a week," Tyulpanov told reporters.