Press Release, 20 January 2026

Photo: Kirill Goncharov / Photo by the Yabloko Press Service

Kirill Goncharov, Chairman of Moscow Yabloko, has criticised the refusal by the Moscow Electoral Commission to include party representatives in territorial electoral commissions (TECs). Goncharov calls the decision “politically motivated” and emphasises that Moscow Electoral Commission’s arguments “do not stand up to scrutiny”: the refusal is explained either by the lack of experience in electoral commissions of some candidates from Yabloko, or by Yabloko’s absence as a faction in the State Duma.

It should be noted that the Yabloko party had 44 representatives in the Moscow TECs formed for the period from 2020 to 2025, as according to the law, registered political parties enjoy the right to appoint party representatives to electoral commissions. Yabloko members of electoral commissions were able, amongst other things, to participate in organising elections, monitor compliance with voters’ rights (and record violations), and participate in the formation of precinct electoral commissions (PECs).

In December 2025, it was reported that the Moscow Electoral Commission had formed the Moscow TECs for the next five years, and for the first time in Yabloko’s 33 years of existence, not a single of the 127 territorial electoral commissions in Moscow included Yabloko representatives. In connection with this, the head of Moscow Yabloko, Kirill Goncharov, sent a letter to the Moscow Electoral Commission Chair Olga Kirillova, in which he demanded an explanation for the reasons behind the decision taken. It would obviously have a serious impact on elections in Moscow and on the perception of the electoral procedure itself, already discredited, Goncharov noted.

In January 2026, Goncharov received a response from the Moscow Electoral Commission signed by Secretary Vladimir Popov. According to the official answer, the Moscow Electoral Commission had examined candidates to commissions proposed by Yabloko “on general grounds”, but had nevertheless chosen candidates only from parties with factions in the State Duma. As a result, Moscow TECs were formed with the participation of five parliamentary pro-government parties only. But that was not all: according to Vladimir Popov’s answer, some of the candidates nominated by Yabloko “had no experience in electoral commissions”. Vladimir Popov saw neither any violation of the rights of the Yabloko party, nor any violations of electoral legislation.

Clearly, the decision by the Moscow Electoral Commission is political, since electoral legislation has not changed and, moreover, it was precisely in accordance with it that Yabloko representatives had previously been approved as members of territorial electoral commissions. But attitudes towards the opposition have changed, which means that the Moscow Electoral Commission’s refusal is politically motivated, Kirill Goncharov’s statement runs:

“The Moscow Electoral Commission’s arguments do not stand up to scrutiny. The party’s absence as a faction in the State Duma has never previously been considered an obstacle: under the same formal conditions, our candidates were approved for many years in succession. The law has not changed, only attitudes towards the opposition have changed.

Moreover, the absence of a faction in the State Duma did not prevent the Moscow Electoral Commission from appointing representatives of the Green Alternative and the Communists of Russia parties in a number of [commissions] in Moscow districts, which clearly demonstrates the selective nature of the decision.

References to ‘lack of experience’ are also unfounded. According to the Moscow Electoral Commission’s own data, only 12 people lack previous experience, which means that the overwhelming majority – 43 people – possess such experience. This speaks not of ‘insufficient qualification’ but, on the contrary, of the high level of training and quality of the candidates we have proposed. This is not a quality issue, but a formal pretext for refusal.

If these same criteria were applied to the current Chair of the Commission, Olga Kirillova, who had no experience working in electoral commissions, they would also not be met.

We consider the Moscow Electoral Commission’s refusal as politically motivated and harmful to the electoral system in Moscow. It undermines trust in elections and will, in the long run, have a negative impact on the legitimacy of the authorities.

Under these circumstances, we call on citizens to register as observers for the Yabloko party at the forthcoming State Duma elections. Independent observation today is one of the few real ways to protect the right to fair elections.”