Speaking at a news conference at the ABN news agency, Golov and Khakamada urged St. Petersburg residents to vote Sunday to assist society in getting rid of the so-called "administrative resource," saying that the success of the economically liberal and pro-civil rights parties depends directly on how big the turnout is.

Opinion polls have predicted the city will have one of the lowest turnouts in the country.

"We are not able to place [campaign materials] in any organizations with budgetary financing," Golov said. "They have orders from authorities not to accept advertisements except those from candidates running with the United Russia party."

Golov quoted a report written Nov. 28 by his campaign assistants, who were refused permission to place advertisements in Primorsky District school No. 41 located at 1/3 Ulitsa Marshala Novikova.

"The school No. 41 director explained her refusal to place campaign materials by the fact that she, along with directors of other schools, had signed a document [issued by] Primorsky District Education Ministry Department that obliges schools' directors to place campaigning information only for the State Duma candidate Shevelyov, Alexander Vladimirovich," said an official report signed by Irina Pakoshova and Mikhail Deryabin, who visited the school Friday.

Shevelyov is the United Russia candidate in District No. 210.

Neither the school nor the District Education Department could be reached for comment Monday.

"A significant number of our citizens are not going to vote, making it possible for minority to decide everything and his minority is targeted by the authorities," Golov said Monday.

"There is open interference by use of administrative resources in district No. 210," he said. "All the schools and polyclinics are covered with campaign materials in Shevelyov's favor."

Khakamada was similarly critical of unequal treatment by organizations under state control.

"I faced gibberish of some sort the other day when [state-owned television channel] Rossia broadcast a report of [State Duma Speaker Gennady] Seleznyov [candidate in the district No. 209] licking a machine tool when visiting some factory," she said. "The workers and directors were saying how good he is."

"If I were to want to visit a factory, I would be lucky if they even let me in, not to mention meeting any directors; they would all be hiding," she said.

Khakamada said she had tried several times to set up debates with Seleznyov, but he was repeatedly unavailable and could not be even reached personally to hear her proposal.

The City Court declined Khakamada's appeal to strike Seleznyov's registration as a candidates on grounds that he had abused administrative resources, Interfax reported Monday.

During the current election campaign, the court has heard three complaints in total but ruled that only one candidate is to be struck from the list of city candidates, Interfax quoted Dmitry Krasnyansky, deputy head of the City Election Commission, as saying Friday.

"The court made its ruling only for Irina Rodnina's complaint to remove the registration of Alexander Morozov, [a candidate in District No. 207]," Krasnyansky said. "Competitors appeals to remove current deputies Oksana Dmitriyeva [from District No. 213] and Yuly Rybakov [of District No. 206] failed.".

The campaign looked "flabby," he added, and expressed his hope that "it would be given a dynamic of some sort a few days before the voting."

Monday was the last day a candidate could be taken off the list by court decision, according to the federal election law.

The media is not allowed to publish any poll ratings or surveys starting Tuesday, five days before the election day, Sunday Nov. 7.

Khakamada complained her campaigners had been physically attacked. One of her assistants was severely beaten up on the street and all her campaign materials stolen, she said.

"The woman received concussion and her cell phone was broken apart by two guys who were screaming that she should get out of there with 'her Khakamada,'" she said, pointing out that her opponents often stress that she is of part-Japanese origin and does not live in St. Petersburg.

Khakamada also said Seleznyov has little chance of continuing as speaker.

"It was always the case that the speaker was representative of a majority or a candidate approved by the party of power," Khakamada said. "That was true with [Ivan] Rybkin or Seleznyov. As for now, I hope Sergei Shoigu will not leave his post as Emergency Minister ... that leaves [Boris] Gryzlov to be the speaker, and if he is, we'll be expecting a new person to be appointed Interior Minister."

See also:

the origianl at
www.sptimes.com

State Duma elections 2003

St. Petersburg Times, December 2, 2003