Putin seen as prior candidate for 2012 election
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Russia's ruling party, the United Russia, is considering incumbent Prime Minister Vladimir Putin as its prior candidate for the 2012 presidential election, a senior member of the party said on Thursday.
Yuri Shuvalov, deputy secretary of the party's General Council, noted Putin has wooed the voters since the establishment of the party.
"Naturally, we would like to see Vladimir Putin on top of the United Russia party list in parliamentary elections in December, and we see him as a prior candidate for the presidency from our party," Shuvalov was quoted by Interfax news agency as saying.
Putin said on Wednesday that he and President Dmitry Medvedev may both run for the 2012 presidential election and a final decision would be made after judging the real current economic, political and social situation on eve of elections.
On Tuesday, Medvedev also said he did not rule out the possibility of running for re-election and that decision would be taken "pretty shortly".
The United Russia, established in December 2001, is a dominating political force in Russia. The party chose Putin as its leader in April 2008.
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