Russian Lower House Duma Rejects Kiriyenko For Second Time as Prime Minister

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia`s opposition-dominated lower house of parliament voted on Friday to reject Sergei Kiriyenko as prime minister. In an open vote in the State Duma, 271 deputies voted against Kiriyenko and 115 for. There were 11 abstentions in the vote, the second time Kiriyenko has been rejected. If the chamber votes against President Boris Yeltsin`s candidate a third time, the Duma is dissolved and an election called. Within minutes of the vote, Yeltsin`s representative at the Duma said the president would renominate Kiriyenko. After four hours of debate and procedural wrangling, the vote on Kiriyenko candidacy was over in a flash. Deputies agreed overwhelmingly to decide on Kiriyenko in an open ballot and then immediately moved on to the actual vote. The open vote meant deputies were less likely to ignore party discipline. This helps to explain why fewer deputies voted for Kiriyenko than last Friday, when 143 backed him in an anonymous electronic ballot.