Statement by the Regional Council of the Moscow branch of YABLOKO, 10.07.2014

The Moscow Mayor’s Office has been using journalists and commentators so that to convince Muscovites that elections to the Moscow City Duma will be fair and free of fraud and dirty tricks.

However, the facts demonstrate the opposite. A full range of techniques – from changes in legislation and political technology tricks to direct violence and criminal prosecution against undesirable candidates – has been already employed.

Amendments were introduced in the law so that to make participation of the opposition candidates extremely difficult or even meaningless:

– transition to the majority system with a new division of electoral districts in order to “dilute” the protest vote by the loyal one;

– transition to the work of part of the Moscow City Duma deputies on volunteer work meeting for voting once a month;

– toughening of liability for violation of the electoral legislation;

– the need for candidates not nominated by the parties present in the State Duma and the YABLOKO party to collect signatures in the electoral district amounting to 3 per cent of the number of voters.

There were organized the so-called “primaries” – the election of candidates to the candidates – which confused Muscovites, many of whom have taken them for real election, also these primaries allowed before the launch of the campaign to use the administrative resources for the promotion and advertising of the candidates suitable for the Mayor’s Office. In addition to representatives of the ruling “United Russia” so-called ‘independent’ candidates, but supported by the Moscow authorities, took part in the ‘primaries’. Information on these ‘people’s candidates’ was placed information leaflets in residential houses and on billboards.

Police detained representatives of YABLOKO’s campaign teams.

Candidates collecting signatures for nomination, had to continuously face all sorts of obstacles, from publications and advertisements running that swindlers were acting in their district disguised as collectors of signatures up to psychological pressure on collectors, for example, filming all their actions.

YABLOKO’s newspapers and leaflets and those of YABLOKO candidate Irina Kopkina were stolen from mailboxes in Strogino district by representatives of the local authorities, and YABLOKO candidate Mikhail Peskov discovered that the papers were stored in the local authorities office; Peskov had to confront violence against him and police were called.

Unidentified persons beat municipal deputy from YABLOKO Nikolai Pinyasov and independent candidate Vera Kichanova.

The Moscow branch of YABLOKO demands from the Moscow Mayor’s Office and its subordinate organisations to abandon their unlawful practices and ensure a transparent and fair election process. Only in this case Muscovites will recognize new composition of the Moscow City Duma be legitimate.

Any obstacles on the way of candidates, including their collection of signatures, represent repressive measures, as legislator’s requirements for collection of signatures are redundant and aim only at removal of disloyal candidates from the race. In this regard, the Moscow branch of YABLOKO urges all members of the district electoral commissions nominated by the YABLOKO party not to participate in the persecution of the candidates collecting signatures and defend their right to be registered as candidates provided they collect the required number of signatures.

The party, for its part, will support all legitimate demands of the candidates and strive, in cooperation with other organisations, to ensure maximum control over voting on September 14.