The ALDE party, 21.12.2015

YABLOKO, ALDE Party member in Russia, held its Congress on Saturday and Sunday and elected Emilia Slabunova, MP of the Legislative Assembly of the Republic of Karelia, as the new party leader. Mrs Slabunova becomes the first female stand-alone leader of a political party in Putin’s Russia.

Emilia Slabunova, a member of YABLOKO’s Political Committee, was from 1999 to 2013 the director of Lyceum School No 1 – the largest educational institution of Petrozavodsk and Karelia, which is one of the 500 best schools in Russia. In 2011 she became an elected MP of the Legislative Assembly of the Republic of Karelia. She has been a YABLOKO member since 2003. She won in the second round of the vote, defeating Lev Shlosberg, leader of the Pskov branch of YABLOKO.

A leadership election was necessary as members voted to restricting the term of office for party Chair by two terms. As a result, Grigory Yavlinsky and Sergei Mitrokhin could not run again, but both endorsed Mrs Slabunova’s candidacy for Party Chair.

Mr Yavlinsky said she has “a deep understanding of the political situation in the country. She is a person far from intrigues; she is a high professional with 20 years of experience in managing the largest educational institution of the Republic of Karelia.” Mr Mitrokhin added: “Slabunova proves that she is an independent person, not giving in to pressure – neither administrative nor political, nor the threats of criminal prosecution. This allows me to say that Slabunova is a worthy candidate, in particular, in the electoral sense.”

Public interest in what come bloggers called “the only free and fair election in Russia” was very high and the candidates were widely discussed nationwide by public and different political forces.

Opening the XVIII Congress of the party, YABLOKO’s outgoing leader Sergei Mitrokhin delivered a report on the party’s activity during the past three years and stated that YABLOKO can count on effective result at the elections to the State Duma, due to take place in 2016.

“We have stated the central point of our strategy as preserving and strengthening the party as an independent political organisation in relation to the authorities of all levels with steadfast ideological and political principles, ready to take responsibility for ruling the country,” he said.

“When I was elected Chairman in 2008 I made to all of you the promise to preserve the party. We all know it was not an empty phrase or a banal remark, we all know that a large number of political parties suffered such a fate at that time and the next period. At that moment such a threat appeared in the distance for us as well. I think that this promise, more likely a guarantee, was fully brought to life.”

“Since that time the situation in the country has deteriorated dramatically – from the point of view of political regime and its pressure on the civil society, political and party systems, but at the same time the situation within our party has improved”, he said.

Yabloko currently has nine deputies in six Legislative Assemblies, and 173 municipal deputies in 21 regions. At the last elections to the State Duma in 2011, the party polled 3.43% but won no seats. YABLOKO did not recognise the results of that election referring to widespread electoral fraud.
The original publication