Abramovich "wins" Chukotka election by 97%
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Abramovich wins Chukotka election
Abramovich: not allowed to resign
Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich has been elected to parliament in the remote Chukotka region, only months after resigning as governor.
The Central Election Commission says Mr Abramovich won 97% of Sunday's vote to the regional parliament.
Abramovich had served as the governor of Chukotka for eight years before President Dmitry Medvedev accepted his resignation in July. Medvedev's predecessor, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, had refused to accept Abramovich's resignation on multiple occasions.
The owner of Chelsea FC is now expected to head the regional legislature. Mr Abramovich became very popular in the remote Arctic region after investing millions of his own dollars there in social services.
Russian media suggested that Mr Abramovich had attempted repeatedly to leave his position as governor but that former President Putin was opposed to the move.
Mr Abramovich, 41, was ranked earlier this year by Forbes magazine as Russia's second wealthiest businessman with a reported capital of more than $24bn (£13.8bn).
He made his wealth in oil and natural resources, following the liberalisation of Russian markets in the late 1980s and 1990s.
However, there have been reports that his fortune has been heavily eroded by the crash in world stock markets.
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