The web-site of the Central Electoral Commission published
on September 24 an appeal signed by the leaders of the United
Russia, the Fair Russia, CPRF, LDPR and the Right Course
parties. The indicated parties complained of “discrediting
of their registered candidates” by the YABLOKO and the Patriots
of Russia parties in the Klin district, Moscow Region.
They also complained of “defamation in the address of the
political parties that obtained the right (Ed. The registration)
in the elections.” In addition these parties loyal to the
Kremlin and Governor Gromov spoke in defence of the Klin
Electoral Commission (which refused to take YABLOKO’s documents
submitted for registration in the election race – for details
see the section Regional
and Municipal Elections 2009) suffering from “the discrediting
campaign in the mass media”.
In conclusion of the complaint the representatives of these
parties asked the Central Electoral Commission to pay their
attention that “black” PR technologies and pressure on electoral
commissions, juridical and law-enforcement bodies is inadmissible.
Deputy head of the Moscow Region branch of YABLOKO and
member of the Federal Council of the party Dmitry Ilyushin
commented such a complaint as follows, “Frankly speaking
I was surprise to learn that we had managed to scare the
judicial and law-enforcement bodies in such a way that now
the governmental party decided to protect them from us.”
According to Ilyushin, the complaint is senseless and absurd.
“The Klin Electoral Commission was discredited not by YABLOKO
or the Patriots of Russia, but by its Chairman who, according
to the media, has even faked his Russian citizenship [to
become member of the Commission]. Obviously this letter
was encouraged by head of the Klin district Alexander Postrigan.
I can say that YABLOKO will not leave Postrigan and his
company in peace and will fight in the Klin district till
the end,” Ilyushin said.
It should be noted that the lists of candidates of the
parties not controlled by Postrigan – the Patriots of Russia
and YABLOKO – were not registered in the election. YABLOKO’s
list was topped by a renowned oppositionist Yuri Samsonov
who has been fighting against the corrupt head of the district
since 1994. During this period Samsonov was elected to the
district Council three times, also three times he competed
with Postrigan at the elections on the post of the district
head and came second. A mass-scale meeting
took place on YABLOKO’s initiative in Klin on September
13. The meeting demanded resignation of Postrigan.
See also:
Regional and
Municipal Elections, 2009
