| 
The Russian Supreme Court began an examination of the the lawsuit filed
by the liberal 2008 Free Choice Committee and Yabloko Communist political
parties. The suit contests the results of the recent Duma elections.
“Although it’s only been one hour since the proceedings
have started, one can already see that the Court is trying to hurry this
case, probably to dismiss it as soon as possible,” said Elena Lukyanova,
one of the plaintiff lawyers.
For the communists, this lawsuit is an important event in the struggle
for lawful transparent elections. Ivan Melnikov, assistant head of the
Communist Party, said in an interview on the Ekho Moskvy radio station:
“We are not expecting an easy trial nor are we hoping for legal
honesty, since we know that our courts are not independent. But in this
case, the Supreme Court cannot easily turn us down. Some of the documents
that we have gathered have irrefutable evidence in our favor.”
“We have shown that we are not giving up,” Melnikov added.
“In a way, we have trapped the government with this lawsuit. As
soon as it is turned down, it will go to the European Court on Human Rights.
We shouldn’t worry about hurting Russia’s image by filing
it, the image will be damaged more if we remain with the existing electoral
system.”
Sergei Ivanenko, who is
the assistant head of Yabloko and a member of the 2008 Free Choice Committee,
thinks that this trial is crucial for the future of Russia’s democracy.
“The most important thing is for this trial to be a normal and lawful
legal trial,” he said. “We are realists, and it is hard to
annul the election results, but what we do is important for the next elections.
It is necessary to show that we do not accept this administrative despotism.
The bureaucrats have to realize that they can be held responsible.”
Vladimir Ryzhkov, another member of the 2008 Free Choice Committee and
a deputy to the Duma, is also hoping for success: “We have serious
enough evidence. There are dozens of tapes with news program recordings.
So we are hoping for a serious trial that will take from several weeks
to several months.”
See also:
Elections to the State
Duma, 2003
| 