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Moscow (AFP)

Russia's election commission on Wednesday recommended invalidating the results of a key regional poll, a highly unusual move triggered by claims of blatant vote-rigging in favour of a Kremlin-backed candidate.

The crisis erupted in Russia's Far East where an opposition candidate accused a ruling party representative -- endorsed by President Vladimir Putin -- of "stealing" his victory in a gubernatorial vote last Sunday.

Communist Party candidate Andrei Ishchenko, 37, seemed poised to become the next governor of the far eastern region of Primorsky Krai until the results suddenly changed overnight allowing his Kremlin-backed rival to claim victory.

Sunday's vote was a second-round runoff after the Moscow-backed candidate, Andrei Tarasenko, failed to win at least 50 percent of the vote this month amid anger over rising poverty under Western sanctions.

While nearly every election in Russia is marred by claims of vote-rigging, the opposition and ordinary Russians said ballot stuffing and other irregularities during the far eastern vote were especially brazen.

In a rare move, the head of the Central Election Commission admitted Wednesday the Primorsky Krai vote was marred by irregularities and recommended that regional officials invalidate it.

- 'Serious violations' -

"In a number of cases, mostly at the final stage, there were serious violations of the legislation," Ella Pamfilova said, referring to instances of ballot stuffing, voter pressure and bribery.

She however denied that the vote was rigged in favour of the Kremlin-backed candidate, saying both candidates complained of irregularities.

Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the Kremlin supported the election commission's stance but added that acting governor Tarasenko would for now remain at his post.

If regional election officials declare the results invalid, new gubernatorial polls should take place in three months.

Earlier this month Putin appeared to throw his support behind Tarasenko.

"I know you face a second-round runoff," Putin told him during a meeting. "I think everything will be alright."

Stanislav Andreichuk, a member of Golos movement, an independent election observer, said that if the far eastern vote were to be declared invalid, it would be the first such case since at least 2005, when the Kremlin scrapped gubernatorial elections before reinstating them in 2012.

"It is a pretty rare thing," he told AFP.

Earlier this month, the Kremlin suffered several other blows in the regions of Khabarovsk, Khakasia and Vladimir where ruling party candidates failed to win gubernatorial elections in the first round.

Second-round runoffs are scheduled in those regions on Sunday.

© 2018 AFP