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NEWS ITEM: The 2012 parliamentary election campaign kicked off this week, featuring congresses of the ruling Party of the Regions and the United Opposition, among others. The Regions congress had tight, airport-style security, and forced journalists to cover the event from inside a press room. The delegates voted unanimously for unknown candidates (picked by party leaders) in a Soviet-style ceremony. The United Opposition’s congress was more open, but the list of candidates was also kept secret until the actual congress, where the names were read out loud.