No, this is not an election

Elections in which the winner is known is not elections, but ritual lowering the ballot into the urn

Let's start with the obvious: Vladimir Putin usurped power. Today I can hardly understand how the Russians, including me, bought me in that trick: “no more than two in a row,” and here it is not in a row, which means it seems to be legal. Putin is squeezing the third presidential term and aimed at the fourth, and this is anyway more than the “two terms”, no matter whether in a row or not. His power is already illegal now and will not become more legal when he passes through the legalization ritual on March 18. This is officially called the "presidential election." But in fact, this is the profanity of the elections, and non -participation in this event is the only honest position for a citizen.

Another obvious fact: the bearer of sovereignty is a people, and citizens realize their power through participation in the elections as voters and candidates.

This is the main argument that the headquarters of democratic candidates for presidents today lead against the strike of voters declared by Alexei Navalny . I will try to explain why this strike is not a rejection of their civil rights, but on the contrary, the struggle for them is the only possible today.

The essence of the elections is not to come to the site, take the ballot, put a checkmark in it and lower it into the urn. The bottom line is to form power to your taste. Elections are needed in order to lead to power people who defend our interests. In the case of presidential elections, we choose a person who personifies our country and our image of the future.

By default, the Russian image of the future is Vladimir Putin . With a record number of candidates for candidates - more than 60 people submitted documents to the CEC - there is no one on the list who is seriously ready to fight for the victory over Putin. Not only with deed, but at least in a word: even candidates of the opposition, democratic camp promise at best to present an alternative, “the possibility of a different future”, like Grigory Yavlinsky , or become a voice “against all”, like Ksenia Sobchak .

The absence of a goal to win, that is, to come to power, depreciates the election campaigns of Putin's rivals. We do not need to stare at their reputation, because none of them will represent our country in the outside world. We do not need to criticize their programs, because none of them will form the government. We do not even need to worry about their safety, because none of them seriously attacks Putin and poses a threat to him.

Among candidates with a chance to get into the ballot, there are not a single one who is able to defeat Putin. He is already the president for the fourth period.

The elections in which the winner is known is not elections, but ritual lowering the ballot into the urn. This is not the implementation of civil law.

"And if Alexei Navalny participated, would it be elections?" Yes, then it would be elections. Why? I will give two arguments.

Firstly, Navalny tuned in to victory. Absolutely serious. Without looking back at the ratings, “Putin's majority”, “folk mentality” and other excuses. All the work of his election headquarters (and I know this work from the inside) at each stage was focused on participating in the elections and the struggle for victory. Alexey Navalny is the only one who has been conducting a real election campaign for a whole year. And he could win because he was not going to take away the electorate from other democrats - he was going to pick up the electorate of the current president.

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It did not reach the electorate, but he managed to convince the press and social networks in seriousness. Therefore, only Navalny was asked how he would do with Putin and his environment. Only his program was disassembled on bones - as a real plan that could have consequences. Only Navalny was examined in a magnifying glass from all sides: is he not a dictator, is he not a new Putin, is he able to negotiate, and whether it is possible to entrust him with power.

Secondly, the very participation of Alexei Navalny in the presidential election is possible only in case of serious changes in the country. The presence of his surname in the balloon would mean that Russia has already taken a step away from totalitarianism. Because the registration of Navalny as a participant in the presidential race demanded a political will - the will aimed at exercising the right of the people of Russia to nominate and support their candidate, participate in politics and choose a course of development of the country.

Among candidates with a chance to get into the ballot, there are not a single one who is able to defeat Putin. Photo: www.on-russia.com

The image of the beautiful Russia of the future takes hundreds of thousands of people to the streets. This is an organized political force that has the right to be represented in the political system. Now there is no such representation.

If the CEC was indeed an independent authority designed to protect the electoral rights of citizens, it would be obliged to register the initiative group of Navalny, following the letter of the Constitution. But alas, the CEC behaved like a screw, a limp detail of a mechanism subordinate to Putin. Ella Pamfilova, not in vain, emphasized before the vote that there were representatives of six political parties in the commission. She made it clear that in the political system of Russia, formed today, Navalny has no place, and this is a consensus. No one opposed. The maximum of courage was allowed to himself the representative of Yabloko in the CEC (according to the president’s quota) - silently came out at the time of voting.

“Think about whether you want to give your vote for an empty chair,” Alexey commented on this moment, anticipating today's struggle for turnout, including the opposition.

Participation in the elections of March 18, where the winner is known in advance and is removed from the participation of the main competitor - this is participation in the game according to imposed rules. If you enter this game, you say that you agree with the rules. You agree that you need to perform the ritual - and no more.

The voter strike should be understood as a political statement: we do not participate in these games. We demand to return the election meaning. We do not agree with such a configuration of the political system.

Let's finally recognize another obvious fact: the presidential election on March 18 will not change this political system. Putin will remain in power for the fourth term (“no more than two in a row”, yeah), he will again form the government, no matter what interest there are Grudinin , Yavlinsky and Sobchak and whatever the turnout. The system cannot be changed from the inside.

Through the strike, we try to put pressure on the system outside. We declare that we do not agree with such rules. We demand a full participation in politics so that in the elections we are represented by the one we trust, and not those to whom the Kremlin trusts.

I think this dispute will continue even after Putin re-approves himself in his position, and at some point it will move on to the question of why Navalny’s supporters are not represented by either Sobchak, Yavlinsky, nor anyone else. This is a separate large topic. So far, we are only talking about a strike as the realization of our electoral rights, and here we need to emphasize another point.

The strike is not inaction and not "stay on the couch." This agitation is an explanation why these elections are not elections. This observation in the areas - the calculation of real turnout. These are street protests, the first of which is scheduled for January 28.

The strike is a continuation of a real policy, uncontrolled by the Kremlin. I currently do not see more effective exercise of my civil rights.

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