Medvedev's statement marked a rare criticism of the United Russia party led by his predecessor and mentor, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. United Russia is a power base for Putin, who has not ruled out a return to the presidency in 2012.
Speaking before a major party meeting in St. Petersburg also attended by Putin, Medvedev accused some of United Russia's regional branches of using their dominance and official connections to shape the election results in their favor.
He said the party must "free itself of such people and shed such bad political habits."
"Elections must express the people's will in free competition between ideas and programs, but they turn into a different story when democratic procedures are mixed with administrative ones," he said. He did not elaborate.
Most top federal and regional officials in Russia are United Russia members, and the opposition has accused the party of using its leverage to rig the vote. Independent election observers and opposition parties, including the Communists, protested what they said were mass electoral violations during October's local elections, citing evidence of multiple voting and ballot stuffing.
Opposition candidates claim they were hindered from campaigning and some were denied places on the ballot.
Both Putin and Medvedev defended United Russia in post-election comments, while adding that claims of violations need to be investigated and the culprits punished. Medvedev's statement Saturday was likely aimed at deflecting criticism of the vote rather than challenging Putin's dominance of Russia's political landscape.
Since assuming the presidency last year, Medvedev has sought to cast himself as a more liberal-leaning politician than Putin, who rolled back many post-Soviet freedoms during his eight-year presidency.
