Updated on
Summary Medvedev now has the backing of nearly 300 lawmakers in the 450-seat chamber.
Russias parliament was set Tuesday to hold confirmation hearings on Dmitry Medvedevs candidacy as President Vladimir Putins premier under a job swap agreement that fuelled protests last year.Putin submitted Medvedevs candidacy for confirmation almost immediately after his lavish swearing-in ceremony Monday, in keeping with a promise he made in September on announcing his planned return to the Kremlin for a third time.The ruling tandems private decision to trade places fed into the anger many Russians experienced about fraud-tainted legislative polls in December followed by Putins easy but controversial March presidential election victory.But Medvedevs confirmation is essentially assured after both the ruling United Russia party that he now heads and a largely pro-government bloc of the maverick lawmaker Vladimir Zhirinovsky committed their full support.Medvedev now has the backing of nearly 300 lawmakers in the 450-seat chamber while needing a simple 226 vote majority to become Putins premier.The Izvestia daily reported ahead of the hearings that Kremlin officials were still busy lobbying other lawmakers to back Medvedevs candidacy in an overwhelming vote of confidence for Putins choice.The hearing was scheduled to begin at 3:00 pm (1100 GMT) and include an appearance by Medvedev. Interfax reported on Monday that Putin was also due in parliament to the lower house of parliament to lobby for his close ally.A vote was largely expected by Tuesday evening.Putin had served as Medvedevs prime minister after ceding his Kremlin seat upon completing between 2000 and 2008 his first two terms as president, the maximum number of consecutive mandates allowed under the constitution.Putin was elected to a newly-extended six-year presidential term with 63.6 percent of the vote on March 4.
