Press Release, 19.02.2025

Photo: Deputy of the Yakutia’s parliament Vladimir Poskachin and Anatoly Nogovitsyn / Photo by the Yabloko branch in Yakutia

The regional branch of the Yabloko party in Yakutia has completed its campaign to collect signatures for preservation of direct elections of the mayor of Yakutsk and heads of districts. In total, Yabloko managed to collect 1,070 signatures of citizens who are against depriving them of the right to vote. The signature sheets have been submitted to Il Tumen, the parliament of Yakutia.

The collection of signatures started in December. Despite the busy pre-New Year vacation period, Yakutians found time to express their civic position. The residents of Yakutsk, the capital of Yakutia, came not only to put their signatures, but also independently collected signatures among their relatives, friends and colleagues. The signature drive officially ended on 15 February, but even after that, people continued to come to sign in support of direct elections.

On 19 February, the signatures were handed over to the independent deputy of Il Tumen Vladimir Poskachin, who will report the position of the citizens of Yakutia to his colleagues in the parliament.

“A thousand signatures is not just a number, these are the votes of people who want to decide for themselves who will govern their cities and districts, and not get those appointed by the authorities. We have shown that the residents of Yakutia do not agree with the destruction of local self-government and are ready to defend it. We hope that the deputies will hear their voters and will not support this bill. However, our fight does not end there. There are still trying times ahead, and only together can we defend our right to choose the government,” said Anatoly Nogovitsyn, Chairman of the regional branch of the Yabloko party in Yakutia.

The Yabloko branch in Yakutia will continue to defend the democratic rights of citizens and seek to preserve direct elections in the republic.