Press Release, 20.08.2021

Photo by the Press Service of the Chelyabinsk branch of Yabloko

The Chelyabinsk branch of Yabloko cannot get permission from regional officials to install campaign cubes. The Chelyabinsk administration claims that all 50 places for which applications were submitted have been occupied for the whole day. All the sites are occupied by alleged campaigners of Alexander Teksler, Governor of the Chelyabinsk Region, who also participates in the elections.

Yabloko can not get sites for installing its cubes and campaigning for several days. The administration is ready to give a permission for only one alternative site for Yabloko. However, this place is not suitable for campaigning.

“Our attempts to get a permission with the Chelyabinsk Administration on the installation of our campaign cubes in the city have ended in nothing for several days already. Each time we are sent to the parking lot, the administration motivates this by the fact that all of the places we have offered, and these are located at about 50 street intersections, are occupied,” Yaroslav Shcherbakov, Chairman of the Chelyabinsk Yabloko, says.

Yaroslav Shcherbakov sees political corruption in this situation, as well as and the use of administrative resources by the candidate from the authorities. The Chairman of the regional Yabloko branch filed a complaint with the Central Electoral Commission.

“It is a very indicative example of the fact of political corruption, when one political monopoly, using its administrative resources, drives out all competitors,” Shcherbakov notes.

It should be noted that the elections to the State Duma will be held on September 19. Yaroslav Shcherbakov, Chairman of the regional branch of the Yabloko party, runs in the elections in constituency No. 189 (Chelyabinsk).