MOSCOW (AFP) — The Moscow branch of the Other Russia opposition party Monday chose chess great Garry Kasparov as candidate for next year's presidential elections, the RIA Novosti news agency reported overnight.
The party's regional congress considered eight candidates, including former prime minister Mikhail Kasyanov and former Central Bank chief Viktor Gerashchenko.
Kasyanov was earlier leading the primaries held by the Other Russia, winning 488 delegates' votes -- 44 more than Kasparov -- across 30 Russian regions.
The Other Russia says it will decide at an upcoming party conference on a presidential candidate to contest the March 2, 2008, election to replace President Vladimir Putin.
The coalition, which comprises a variety of small groups opposed to Putin, has little impact in Russia where television is under state control and anti-Kremlin politicians are rarely heard.
The Other Russia, founded by chess legend Kasparov, is also riven by internal squabbling.
Kasyanov was prime minister under Putin during his first term, before being replaced in 2004. He then became a fierce opponent of the Russian president, but has little public support, in part because of relentlessly negative coverage in the state-dominated media.
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