Published with a kind permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio
Liberty
Russian opposition Yabloko party founder Grigory Yavlinsky
could be denied registration as a presidential candidate by
Russias Central Election Commission.
The Interfax news agency cited election commission member
Yelena Dubrovina, who represents Yabloko, as saying that about
10 percent of Yavlinsky's signatures have been declared invalid.
Russian law on presidential elections requires would-be candidates
to provide at least 2 million valid signatures in order to
be registered.
Yavlinsky has submitted 2,132,000 signatures.
Earlier, unconfirmed reports indicated that as many as 26
percent of Yavlinsky's signatures had been rejected.
Speaking to reporters in Moscow on January 23, Yavlinsky insisted
he is being barred because of his opposition positions.
"This issue is of a political nature, absolutely, and
the purpose of [denying registration] is to bar from elections
all those people who are discontent with what is happening
in Russia today and who would like a different future for
Russia -- an open, democratic, European, modern future,"
Yavlinsky said.
He added that Yabloko plans to register hundreds or even thousands
of observers for the election and that is also a reason the
Kremlin might refuse to register him.
"This decision is strictly political and it has nothing
to do with the signatures or their quality," he said.
Yabloko party official Sergei Ivanenko told RFE/RL that all
Yavlinsky's signatures are valid -- even though officials
gave only 20 days for would-be candidates to collect the necessary
2 million.
The application of another would-be candidate, Irkutsk Oblast
Governor Dmitry Mezentsev, is also reportedly in danger. Dubrovina
said that 10 percent of his signatures were also rejected.
Dubrovina said the election commission will begin a second
evaluation of the signatures, and that both candidates could
still be registered. The results should be made official in
the next three days, she said.
Billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov's registration seems to be assured.
Dubrovina said that less than 5 percent of his submissions
were invalidated. On his blog, Prokhorov expressed concern
about Yavlinsky's possible disqualification, saying: "I
want to participate in an honest, competitive election."
Russia's presidential election is scheduled for March 4, and
Prime Minister Vladimir Putin is seeking a third presidential
term.
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Presidential
Elections 2012
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