Hunger strikers in Astrakhan began drinking juices

Participants in the hunger strike to cancel the results of the mayoral elections in Astrakhan on Thursday decided to soften the conditions of the action and start drinking juices other than water. As the initiator of the hunger strike, former candidate for mayor Oleg Shein, said, this decision is related to the position of the Central Election Commission, which expressed its readiness to study video recordings from all polling stations in Astrakhan.

“Sergei Mironov (leader of A Just Russia) and I had a conversation with Vladimir Churov (chairman of the Central Election Commission). Churov expressed his readiness for the Central Election Commission to continue studying video recordings from all polling stations,” Shein said on Thursday.

“The study will be carried out jointly with us, the Central Election Commission and the Prosecutor General’s Office. We said that if the process is underway at the Central Election Commission, hunger strikers will drink juice,” Shein said, noting that the hunger strike will continue.

The press service of the Central Election Commission confirmed the information about the Central Election Commission's intention to study the video recordings. “Sergei Mikhailovich (Mironov), you and I already have experience in jointly viewing video materials related to elections. I am ready to organize and watch with you fragments of video recordings from polling stations in the city of Astrakhan, provided that in my office in Moscow we Oleg Vasilyevich Shein will join, who will stop his senseless and useless hunger strike,” Churov told Mironov in a telephone conversation that took place on Thursday morning.

At the same time, Churov sees no reason to cancel the results of the elections for the mayor of Astrakhan: “So far, the possibility of canceling the voting results has not been seen,” Interfax quotes him.

Oleg Shein, a member of the A Just Russia party, lost the fight for the post of mayor of Astrakhan to United Russia party Mikhail Stolyarov, but did not recognize the voting results and insists on their revision. His hunger strike of protest has already lasted for the 27th day, 18 people have been on hunger strike with him, three of them since the first day of the action.

On Wednesday, A Just Russia leader Sergei Mironov and its chairman Nikolai Levichev, as well as deputy Gennady Gudkov, arrived in Astrakhan to support their party comrade. As the latter reported, Shein planned to meet with city residents that day, but was unable to due to poor health. “We wanted to go for a walk along the embankment so that Shein could meet with the residents of Astrakhan. He got out of the car, but he did not feel very well, and he was not able to walk along the embankment,” Gudkov said. According to him, Shein refused hospitalization and went back to the headquarters of the hunger strikers.