Russian riot police clamp down on protesters

Russian riot police have dispersed a protest by opposition groups against the country's municipal elections, which have led to the domination of the ruling party.

Police in riot gear clashed with demonstrators in Moscow on Monday after the protesters staged an 'unauthorized' rally in the Russian capital following the local election results, which revealed a sweeping victory for the leading United Russia party, security services said.

Around 50 people have been detained in the protests triggered by allegations of vote-rigging.

The weekend ballot showed that the incumbent United Russia party under Prime Minister Vladimir Putin obtained 66.3 percent of the votes, while the Communist party gained 13.3 percent of the votes for the country's legislature, the Duma.

With almost all the ballots counted, Putin's party won 107 out of 135 seats in the regional councils and 189 out of 235 seats in the municipal legislatures, an election authority said.

The news of conservatives' win drew ire from the defeated Yabloko liberals as the political factions' supporters took to the streets and "burned ballot papers" over 'vote fraud.'

Russian President, Dmitry Medvedev, however, ruled out charges of widespread manipulation of votes by the United Russia party and said, "Today the party has proved that it has not only the moral, but the legal right to form executive power in the regions."

Around 30 million voters in 75 municipal elections went to the polls on Sunday amid tight security in Russia.