Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's United Russia party has seen a sharp drop in support in parliamentary elections. With 96% of votes counted, electoral officials said United Russia had just under 50%, down from 64% in 2007. The vote is being seen as a popularity test of Mr. Putin, who is running for the presidency in March. European observers cited procedural violations and apparent manipulation, including ballot box stuffing. Reading a communiqué, an official from the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe said the election was in general "well organized" but there were severe problems with the counting process. Opposition parties have also complained of violations of election laws. Russia's only independent monitoring group, Golos, says it has logged 5,300 complaints alleging violations.