Press release, 10.09.2017

Yekaterinburg Mayor Yevgeny Roizman, whom Yabloko nominated candidate in the gubernatorial elections of the Sverdlovsk Region, commented on the electoral campaign in the region. The elections are taking place there today, on September 10.

Yevgeny Roizman was prevented from running in the elections. The local administration put pressure on local deputies prohibiting them from putting signatures in support of Roizman, which he needed to go through the so called municipal filter. The deputies put their signatures in support of the incumbent Governor Yevgeny Kuishev and hos formal opponents.

It is likely that Kuishev is going to win if Roizman is not running in the elections.

“These are not elections. This is a reappointment of the political appointe who proved his value. What is more, when he was appointed for the first time, the one who appointed him was responsible for him. Now the responsibility for him was put on the shoulders of the residents. The decision to reappoint him was made a long time ago, the scenario was known already in April.

The most alarming and unpleasant thing is that the elections, their imitations actually, kill competition in politics stone dead. As soon as competition in politics disappears, competition in economics disappears as well, and the development of the country stops.

The municipal filter turned out to be an effective means to withdraw those candidates who are out of pleasure with the authorities. This mechanism is anti-constitutional,” Roizman said.

Yabloko and Yevgeny Roizman called their supporters to boycott this election.

Yabloko’s gubernatorial candidates in the Yaroslavl and Novgorod Region Oleg Vinogradov and Anna Cherepanova were also prevented from running in the elections. They also failed to collect signatures of the municipal deputies to pass the municipal filter.

Yabloko calls for abolition of the municipal filter, which is an artificial means of limiting competition.