20.09.2018

Nikolai Rybakov via YouTube

After the scandal [with tremendous fraud by the candidate from the ruling United Russia party] in the election of the governor of the Maritime Territory, the Maritime Territorial Electoral Commission canceled the results of the second round. Two candidates ran in the second round: Andrei Tarasenko (the United Russia party), Interim Governor of the region, and Andrei Ischenko, candidate from the Communist Party, who leading during the voting. However, after counting 99 per cent of the ballots, it turned out that Tarasenko [from United Russia] was ahead, which provoked a protest from the region’s residents and the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, which announced massive falsifications. Nikolai Rybakov, Deputy Chair of Yabloko, commented on the situation in the elections in Maritime Territory during live broadcast in his YouTube channel:

— The decision to cancel the elections in this situation is probably correct. But I should note that the Electoral Commission would not have gone to this, had it not been for a serious public response. In similar cases, they just close their eyes on violations.

And the main thing is not even that. Ishchenko and Tarasenko were not [real] competitors. They are representatives of the same system, with different factions struggling inside this system. Real opposition is simply not allowed for gubernatorial elections with the help of a municipal filter [when oppositional candidates have to collect signatures of local or regional deputies in favour of their registration in the race, however, the ruling United Russia blocks the signatures via the majority of their deputies and pressure on other deputies].

And, unfortunately, there no fundamental difference for residents of the Maritime Territory which of these candidates will become the governor. Look into their programmes – this is an intellectual disaster. And this is the result of the absence of normal political competition in the country.

Elections represent competition of ideas, competition of personalities, competition of teams, competition of programmes. Elections represent a free public discussion on how to develop the region. But this does not happen either in the Maritime Territory or in other regions of the Russian Federation.

Finally, elections represent not only an honest count of votes, but also equal access to participation in the electoral process, and equal opportunities in campaigning. Now the governor himself determines his competitors through the municipal filter.

As a result, citizens are ready to vote for anyone, for absolutely unknown candidates, like, for example, in the Vladimir region. The situation reaches the point of absurdity, when the incumbent governors lose elections even their own spoilers.

Nikolai Rybakov

Deputy Chair of Yabloko