Boycot of the mayor’s elections

The coordinator of the “Left Front” Sergey Udaltsov, who is under house arrest in connection with charges of organizing riots in Bolotnaya Square last year, called on opposition candidates for mayors of Moscow to boycott the elections scheduled for September 8.

According to Udaltsov, who also tried to submit documents to the Moscow City Electrician, but did not manage to collect the necessary signatures, the mayor’s elections are “illegal and illegitimate” and the only way out - to leave the temporarily acting mayor Sergei Sobyanin “alone”. According to Sergey Udaltsov on the blog on the Echo of Moscow website , the rights of most candidates were grossly violated - in particular, only the candidate from the Communist Party, Ivan Melnikov, the municipal filter was able to overcome on their own, the rest of the applicants - Alexei Navalny, Sergey Mitrokhin, Nikolai Levich and Mikhail Degtyarev had to turn to Sobyanin for help.

"Housing" calls Udaltsov the situation that has developed around his participation in the elections. Starting from February, under house arrest in connection with accusations of organizing riots on Bolotnaya Square on May 6, Udaltsov in early June turned to the Mosgorizbirkom with a request to accept documents from the proxies for its registration. In the Mosgorisburkom, he was answered that the documents must be submitted personally. At the same time, the Investigative Committee, in response to the opposition’s request to change the conditions of house arrest and allow him to submit documents, invited him to resolve this issue in court, and the Basmanny court again redirected the coordinator of the “Left Front” to investigators. As a result, Udaltsov’s lawyers were still allowed to transfer the necessary documents, leaving one day to collect signatures of citizens and municipal deputies. “Naturally, it was physically impossible to register on time,” Udaltsov writes.

In this situation, the coordinator of the “Left Front” sees only one way out-“before September 8, leave Sergei Sobyanin alone and thus calls the candidates of Ivan Melnikov from the Communist Party, Nikolai Levevich from“ Fair Russia ”, Alexei Navalny, nominated RPR-Parnas, and Sergei Mitrokhin from“ Yabloko ”not to participate in the elections.

Sergei Mitrokhin says that he understands the position of Udaltsov, although his proposal is obviously utopian, not a single candidate from the parliamentary parties will refuse to participate in the elections. Mitrokhin himself, too:

"Udaltsov is now in a desperate situation, his motives, when he makes such statements, can be understood. But the election of the mayor of Moscow is a platform where the battle with the authorities is underway. If I decided to leave this site, I would show cowardice, weakness, I would not do this. I will not do this. Call to the boycott of the elections - this is a call to paralyze their civil position. Boycoting elections, and helps the authorities to falsify the election. "

At the headquarters of candidate Nikolai Levichv, they are also not going to follow the calls of the Coordinator of the "Left Front":

“This statement is absolutely in the style of Sergei Udaltsov,” says Alexander Ageev , head of the headquarters Levichv, “it does not carry anything but self -patient. In recent years, we have not allowed the authorities to live calmly, we opened problem points, corruption scandals. I am absolutely not sure that the elections will pass calmly for Sobyanin and that he will win in the first round. Victory.

They do not see any reason to refuse to participate in the elections of the Moscow mayor.

Valery Rashkin , head of the staff of Ivan Melnikov, wrote the following on his Twitter:

@j963 No boycotts! All to the polls!

- Valery Rashkin (@rashkinv) July 29, 2013

At the headquarters of Alexei Navalny, they refused to comment on anything.

Political scientist Dmitry Oreshkin believes that ignoring the elections will not bring the opposition of the desired results, but, on the contrary, will allow the authorities to get an advantage:

“This is a“ Lisrasa ”strategy. It is clear that Navalny will no longer refuse to participate in the elections, it is clear that the Communist Party will not refuse. The fewer people come to the polls, the easier it will be to defeat Sobyanin, who does not like the opposition. And most importantly, the elections are not a procedure for determining those who will occupy some government posts, in particular the mayor, with the help of popular voltage. This is the procedure. Communications of the population does not go to the election, the authorities conclude that everything is in order, ignoring the elections, the best strategy that can only come up with the power for themselves. It is pointless, counter-productive.

According to Dmitry Oreshkin, the success of the mass protest on September 9, which, among other things, calls Sergei Udaltsov on the blog, depends directly on the election results: “The society is very plastic and, in general, tolerantly, to power. Therefore, if there are no absolutely boorish violations on the 8th and if they show the result, which he actually received, and not steal half the reasons for leaving, then the reasons for the release of There will be no such trifles on the street as the fact that the elections were early and, therefore, the unfair people will forget that they forced Prokhorov , which also, of course, makes the elections not the most equal and benign, ”said political scientist Dmitry Oreshkin .

According to the Comcon research company for July 18-24, 76% of voters are ready to support Sergei Sobyanin, and 15% Alexei Navalny. At the same time, according to the VTsIOM survey for July 20-21, 54% of Muscovites are ready to vote for Sobyanin, 9% for Alexei Navalny. The remaining candidates, according to both studies, enjoy the support of less than five percent of voters.