Statement by the Saratov branch of Yabloko, 29.12.2020

A year ago, at the end of 2019, there was a change in the leadership of the Electoral Commission of the Saratov Region. The electoral system of the region during this time fully demonstrated extremely negative consequences of personnel changes, blatant incompetence of the new leaders and their reckless political engagement. The Regional Council of the Saratov regional branch of the Russian United Democratic Party Yabloko considers the current activity of the Electoral Commission of the Saratov Region destructive and leading to the elimination of the principles of the political balance in the region.

The Electoral Commission of the Saratov Region took off its responsibility for what was happening in the campaign for the by-elections of a deputy of the Saratov Regional Duma in the Volzhsky single-mandate constituency, leaving the elections entirely at the mercy of the district administrations. This led to mass-scale falsifications of the voting results and a natural increase in citizens’ mistrust to all state bodies of the country. For the first time since 2017, the Saratov branch of Yabloko did not recognise the result of these elections.

In the ongoing process of forming territorial electoral commissions, the Electoral Commission of the Saratov Region has been openly guided by political arbitrariness and acts in the interests of one well-known party. At the same time, the regional Electoral Commission demonstratively ignores the methodological recommendations approved by the resolution of the Central Electoral Commission of the Russian Federation which indicates that when forming commissions, preference should be given to candidates with higher legal education, candidates nominated by political parties participating in elections in the relevant territory. At the time of the adoption of the appeal, the Electoral Commission of the Saratov Region did not include any of the candidates proposed by Yabloko for territorial electoral commissions members, despite the fact that there were experienced well-known electoral lawyers among them, and the Yabloko party regularly participates in election campaigns in the Saratov region, in contrast to the subjects of nomination, whose candidates have been appointed [territorial electoral commissions members].

At the end of the year of work of the new leadership, it became obvious that the regional Electoral Commission has become an active participant in the political process acting on the side of the ruling party. It is also impossible to deny the fact that now the Yabloko party is the only organised political force that has been systematically and fundamentally opposing [the ruling] United Russia [party] in the Saratov region.

The Electoral Commission of the Saratov Region is currently completely subordinate to the will of the regional leadership and is unable to hold free, open and competitive elections, the results of which would be recognised by citizens.

The Regional Council of the Saratov regional branch of the Russian United Democratic Party Yabloko believes that Irina Romanova, Chair of the Electoral Commission of the Saratov Region, and Sergei Sedov, Secretary of the Commission, should resign.