Press Release, 12.09.2016

Today the Supreme Court of Karelia dismissed YABLOKO’s appeal on withdrawal of the party list of candidates in the elections to the Petrozavodsk City Council.

“There were no violations [on our part]. We stand our grounds: [our] documents were made correctly,” Galina Shirshina topping YABLOKO’s list to the city parliament said.

Shirshina also noted that consultations with lawyers about the appeal to the Russian Supreme Court had been held, however, now “it can be stated that the line on the ballot with the number of YABLOKO in the elections to the Petrozavodsk City Council will be removed”.

“It was the only chance for the Governor of the Republic withdraw YABLOKO list and postpone his defeat,” Shirshina noted.

Shirshina also told that in the present situation the team of the Karelian branch of YABLOKO will focus on the elections to the State Duma and the Legislative Assembly of the Republic.

Earlier Galina Shirshina reported that on the threashold of the hearings in the Petrozavodsk City Court, the Electoral Commission sent to YABLOKO the letter of explanation of its decision stressing that the registration of YABLOKO had been correct However, an absolutely different letter of explanation virtually copying the claim of the complainant (the Rodina party) was presented in the courtroom. Shirshina did not rule out fraud of the document.

On 30 August, the Petrozavodsk City Court satisfied the claim of the Rodina (Motherland) party on withdrawing YABLOKO’s candidates from the elections to the Petrozavodsk City Council. The leader of the Karelian branch of Rodina Nikolay Tarakanov wrote in the claim that YABLOKO election headquarters had not complied with a number of mandatory standards in the registration of some of YABLOKO candidates and asked to annul registration of the whole YABLOKO list.

The elections to the Petrozavodsk City Council will be held on 18 September, a single voting day in Russia.