Press Release, February 17, 2013

The Conference of the Moscow branch of YABLOKO adopted a Manifesto on compiling of a list candidates for the Moscow City Duma elections (which are to take place in 2014) from united democratic opposition. According to the Manifesto, half of the candidates in the party list will be given to civil activists and representatives from other political forces. Muscovites will determine the nominees in the primaries.

“Moscow has accumulated a critical mass of active people, they awoke from the “sleep’ during Putin’s 2000s, and they want to act. They do realise that their children will not have any normal human prospects in this country without changing of the political situation in the country, that is why they want to go into politics. We give them such an opportunity,” YABLOKO leader Sergei Mitrokhin stated at the Conference.

“A year ago we promised at the rallies that we would propose a definite political mechanism to address different problems. The adopted Manifesto is a direct and earnest answer to all the questions: what people who manifested at Bolotnaya Square and Sakharov Prospect and participated in other mass opposition rallies should do now,” said Grigory Yavlinsky, YABLOKO founder and member of the Political Committee. “The time of general discussions is over. It’s time to act,” he stressed.

Half of the seats in the party list of candidates, as required by law, will be taken by YABLOKO members. The rest of candidates will be determined via primaries that will be held in all 22 electoral territories. A primaries winner will either top the list of candidates in the electoral territory or will become the only candidate running from the party in a single mandate constituency. Those who come second at the primaries can work in the campaign of the primaries winner and, if he wins the election, become his aids.

The Manifesto highlights that only people sharing democratic values can take part in the primaries. “Nationalists and communists are unacceptable for us”, runs the document.

Running from the party, the candidates are exempted from the collection of signatures. The party guarantees its support to all the candidates running in a single mandate constituencies.

Registration for the primaries is already opened. In March, the rules of the primaries will be discussed and in October, the rules will be approved. Voting at primaries is scheduled for next May.

Elections to the Moscow City Duma will be held on September 8, 2014.

See also:

Elections to the Moscow City Duma, 2014