Press Release, 24.06.2014

St.Petersburg YABLOKO will discuss nomination of the party candidate to run in the gubernatorial elections in St. Petersburg at the meeting of the federal Bureau of the Party at the end of the week. Such a statement was made by Grigory Yavlinsky, leader of the YABLOKO faction in St.Petersburg Legislative Assembly, at the final press conference in the Interfax North-West Press Centre before summer vacations in the city parliament. He noted that the situation with a “municipal” filter which candidates have to overcome to run in the election was manifestation of arbitrary rule depriving the election of any competition. All the candidates have to gather 5 – 10 per cent of municipal deputies’ votes in 75 per cent of all the municipalities so that to be registered in the race. This filter virtually deprives oppositional candidates of any chances to run giving all the opportunities to the ruling United Russia party. According to Yavlinsky elections would turn illegitimate, if such a famous politician as Oksana Dmitriyeva could not run.

Most of the questions of the journalists referred to the upcoming gubernatorial election. Grigory Yavlinsky criticized the federal and the regional legislation on the municipal filter for gubernatorial candidates. In his opinion, this norm would deprive the election of any competition. “This leads to such a situation when the interests of citizens, their lawful rights are neglected. And usurpation of power takes place,” he said.

“Inability for such a famous person like Oksana Dmitriyeva to participate in the election will mean their illegitimacy. YABLOKO and a Just Russia party [Dmitriyeva belongs to] are very far from each other as of their views, we even consider them worse than the [ruling] United Russia. But Oksana Dmitriyeva is a very famous person, an academic with a Ph.D., deputy [of St.Petersburg Legislative Assembly] and a highly respected person. I can not imagine elections without her participation. Elections mean a competition. Dmitriyeva is a famous and very important competitor,” Yavlinsky noted.

Yavlinsky also predicted that a scenario opposite to that applied at the mayoral election in Moscow in 2013 would be implemented in the election of St. Petersburg Governor: St.Petersburg authorities would do their best not to allow anyone but the acting Governor Grigory Poltavchenko and a few technical candidates to run.

Speaking about YABLOKO’s candidate, Grigory Yavlinsky noted that several candidacies would be discussed at the meeting of the Federal Bureau on June 28: member of the Political Committee of the party Mikhail Amosov, deputies of the Legislative Assembly Boris Vishnevsky and Alexander Kobrinsky and Bureau member Nikolai Rybakov.

A candidate from YABLOKO or supported by YABLOKO will have to sign a Memorandum of Political Stance which consists of eight items, including recognition of the European vector of Russia’s development, condemnation of Vladimir Putin’s foreign policy, including the annexation of Crimea to Russia and condemnation of Stalinism and nationalism.