Gennady Zyuganov (Xinhua File Photo) 

    MOSCOW, July 3 (Xinhuanet) -- Gennady Zyuganov was re-elected chairman of the Central Committee of Russia's Communist Party here on Saturday, according to local reports.

    Reports said that during the 10th congress of Russia's Communist Party, a new central committee of the party with 126 members was elected, which then picked the 60-year-old Zyuganov asits chairman.

    Meanwhile, the congress passed a resolution expelling Vladimir Tikhonov, an opponent of Zyuganov, from the party.

    On Thursday, an anti-Zyuganov branch of the party held a meeting that voted out Zyuganov and elected Tikhonov, governor of the Ivanovo region, to temporarily replace him until a full congress elects a new leadership.

    On Saturday, while the 10th congress was held in Moscow, Zyuganov's opponents held another "congress" at a secret location in the Russian capital and elected Tikhonov as "chairman."

    The Communist Party is the largest opposition party in Russia, with more than 500,000 members.

    In the fourth parliamentary elections held in December 2003, the seats of Russia's Communist party, led by Zyuganov, decreased greatly, prompting an emergence of rebels within the party that call for Zyuganov's ouster. Enditem