The government is losing people's trust

Hi all!

Today, information about the possible withdrawal of candidates from the presidential race is widely discussed in the media. Apparently, the first wave of purges of the already artificially narrowed list of candidates has begun. The CEC issues comments on the quality of the signatures of Grigory Yavlinsky and Dmitry Mezentsev, their removal seems to be a done deal. I would like to remind Vladimir Churov that he bears personal responsibility for the legitimacy of the procedures. And legitimacy is associated not only with the absence of fraud during voting, but also with ensuring free access for candidates to participate in elections. The narrowing of the number of participants a priori casts doubt on the results of the March elections.

I have always advocated fair competition in politics. This is also demanded by our citizens who go to rallies for fair elections. Victory must only be fair. You can defend your political positions only in open competition for votes. I am ready to compete in the presidential elections with all candidates representing the entire political spectrum. The possible removal of Grigory Yavlinsky deprives him of the opportunity to defend his position before voters, and a large number of our citizens are deprived of the opportunity for political representation in power.

I myself went through the procedure of collecting signatures and I must honestly say that it is, in fact, prohibitive and humiliating for the candidate. The requirements of the electoral legislation in this part are technologically extremely difficult to fulfill. For anyone who runs for election as a self-nominated candidate. And this also creates unequal competitive conditions. Moreover, the technology for collecting signatures is such that none of the candidates is protected from possible provocations. An unscrupulous collector can very easily spoil signature sheets by including false signatures. It is absolutely clear that the procedure for nominating a candidate for the post of president must be changed. And the requirement to submit more than two million signatures to the CEC has been canceled.

In general, I believe that the leader of a party that has passed through the parliamentary elections and received at least three percent of the votes should be allowed to participate in the presidential elections. Similar to the same procedure by which Duma parties now nominate their candidate for the presidency. By placing prohibitive barriers in front of politicians, and therefore their voters, the government loses legitimacy and people's trust. Russia's political system must work in the interests of all our citizens, giving them the right to choose, and politicians the right to be elected to the highest public office on the basis of fair and free competition. We need a struggle of ideas, not selective manipulation. I want to participate in fair and open elections.

I address Gennady Zyuganov, Sergei Mironov and Vladimir Zhirinovsky. I ask you to use all your influence in the Kremlin, right now, to prevent Grigory Yavlinsky from being removed from the presidential campaign. This is in our common interests!

original