Press Release, 20.07.2022

Photo: Alexei Krapukhin / Photo by the Yabloko Press Service

The Moscow authorities are trying to prevent Alexei Krapukhin, a member of the Regional Council of the Moscow branch of Yabloko and Yabloko candidate in the forthcoming Moscow municipal election, from running in the municipal elections in the Moscow district of Krylatskoye by denying him registration as candidate via using a loophole in the interpretation of the Moscow Electoral Code. Yabloko will fight so that Krapukhin is registered – the law and judicial practice are on our side.

On Monday, 18 July, a working group of the Electoral Commission of the Krylatskoye district which verifies the compliance with the procedure for collecting signatures required for registration in the race declared invalid 31 voters’ signatures collected by Alexei Krapukhin. The reason for this decision was that, according to the commission, Alexei did not have the right to independently collect signatures of voters in support of his nomination because of his status as a member of a territorial electoral commission with a casting vote. However, Alexei had suspended his powers as a member of the territorial electoral commission for the entire pre-election period in advance, having submitted a corresponding application to the electoral commission on 8 July, the day before the start of collection of signatures. The electoral commission refuses to take this fact into account.

Krapukhin believes that the working group incorrectly applied legal norms when checking signature sheets.

The Federal Law “On Basic Guarantees of Electoral Rights” and the ruling of Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation do not exclude the “do not exclude the possibility for a person who is a voting member of an electoral commission to be a candidate, personally collect signatures in support of his nomination as a candidate for elections to local self-government bodies, if this involves the release of this person from the duties of a member of the electoral commission (suspension of the status of a member of the electoral commission with a casting vote) and is not related to the use of the advantages of his status as a member of the electoral commission with a casting vote”.

Thus, signature lists can only be declared invalid if it is established that the principles of free elections and equal rights of candidates have been violated. However, the working group did not reveal such circumstances.

On Wednesday, 20 July, Krapukhin filed a corresponding complaint against the actions of the working group of the Electoral Commission of the Krylatskoye District.

Preparations for the 11 September municipal elections are in full swing in Moscow. The registration period for candidates is now coming to an end. The authorities are actively putting pressure on the candidates nominated by the Yabloko party. Four candidates may not be allowed to participate in the elections, because they were brought to administrative responsibility under Article 20.3 of the Code of Administrative Offenses (“demonstration of extremist symbols”). These are Nodari Khananashvili (Academic District), Nikolai Kavkazsky (Basmanny District), Maya Baidakova (Khamovniki District) and Andrei Morev (Yakimanka District).