Communists exploit Moscow protest

After the Central Election Commission rejected the opposition's complaints and refused to register them as candidates for Moscow City Duma, the commission's chairperson Ella Pamfilova admitted that the signature collection procedure was outdated and "contrary to common sense." As Vedomosti writes, after the campaign ends, the Central Election Commission will insistently propose changes to the legislation, she promised.

The Communist Party of the Russian Federation blamed the Moscow City Electoral Commission for the failure of the Moscow City Duma election campaign. At a meeting with Pamfilova, the party's candidates demanded the resignation of MGIK head Valentin Gorbunov. Pamfilova admitted that the CEC has long had complaints about the work of MGIK, but she cannot directly order Gorbunov to resign. "We can express no confidence," she explained, but in any case, the question of replacing the MGIK leadership will only be raised after the elections.

The Communists are not going to join the protest, but they are going to use it, says political scientist Alexei Makarkin. The expert explained to Vedomosti that the CPRF wants to solve its problems in Moscow: the party performed poorly in the 2017 municipal elections, and now in a number of districts the Communists have become the main rivals of the authorities. Voters who are ready to vote for the democratic opposition are now faced with a choice - either not to go to the polls at all, or to vote for some oppositionist: "Here the Communists are offering their services."