Press Release, 16 June 2025

Photo: Anna Cherepanova / Photo by the Novgorod regional branch of Yabloko

On 14 September, early elections for the head of the region will take place in the Novgorod Region. Anna Cherepanova, Chairwoman of the regional branch of the Yabloko party and candidate in the gubernatorial elections in 2017 and 2022, has called on the Electoral Commission to take measures to counter violations of the law in the upcoming elections. The politician calls for recording such violations as the participation of officials from regional and local administrations in collecting signatures from municipal deputies required for registration of a candidate in the race, and organised transportation of municipal deputies to notaries so that to notarise their signatures in favour of registration of certain candidates. The leader of Novgorod Yabloko also demands the elimination of administrative pressure on deputies, threats and prohibitions on signing for a Yabloko candidate.

Yabloko believes that the purpose of the “municipal filter”, i.e. mandatory collection of a certain number of municipal deputies’ signatures in favour of registration of a candidate, is reduced to preventing alternative candidates from getting onto the ballot, destroying of competition, and leaving in the ballot only those who will not fight, those with whom deals have been made.

Anna Cherepanova, as Yabloko’s candidate in the gubernatorial elections, were unable to overcome the municipal filter either in 2017 or in 2022.

In the 2022 gubernatorial elections, Andrei Nikitin, the United Russia candidate and a former governor, collected deputies’ signatures in excessive numbers. Collecting more signatures than necessary prevented the Yabloko candidate from passing the filter, since a deputy can support only one candidate with a signature. Andrei Nikitin violated the law by collecting several times more signatures than required. The Novgorod Region Electoral Commission knew about the abuse of deputy support by the ruling party candidate, but did nothing to prevent it.

In addition, 35 municipal deputies in Novgorod Region confirmed in writing that they had signed for candidates, but subsequently their signatures were not submitted to the Electoral Commission. Moreover, they could no longer give their signature in support of another candidate.

Also all five registered candidates in the previous gubernatorial elections conducted their “signature campaigns” simultaneously and in coordination, which created an artificial shortage of signatures for the Yabloko candidate.

Anna Cherepanova appealed the refusal of registration as a candidate to the Novgorod Regional Court. The politician demanded that the candidates’ actions be recognised as illegal collusion and their registration for the elections be cancelled, since the collection of signatures took place in violation of the law. In Anna Cherepanova’s opinion, the Novgorod Region Electoral Commission should have appointed new elections.

However, the court refused to consider the arguments, did not demand evidence, and rejected the claim on formal grounds.

At the same time, Novgorod Yabloko is certain that Anna Cherepanova lacked signatures not due to absence of trust, but because of systematic opposition from the authorities.

At a meeting of the Novgorod Region Electoral Commission, Anna Cherepanova gave a report on violations of law in the 2022 gubernatorial elections. The Electoral Commission chairwoman Tatyana Lebedeva stated that no violations during signature collection had been established in any elections with a “municipal filter”, and that Yabloko’s claims were unfounded. Nevertheless, Lebedeva asked the chairs of territorial electoral commissions to carefully monitor compliance with electoral legislation in their territories.