NEWS

Yabloko Election Ban Upheld

The St. Petersburg Times

The Central Election Commission in Moscow has agreed with the earlier decision of the St. Petersburg Election Commission to exclude the liberal opposition party Yabloko from the elections to the St. Petersburg Legislative Assembly.

The party was expelled from the race on the grounds that a percentage of signatures presented to the commission as a requirement to register in the election failed to meet the required standards. The election is set for March 11.

Yabloko is considering a court case against the St. Petersburg election commission.

“We have to use all legal means available to us,” said Boris Vishnevsky, a member of the political council of the local branch of Yabloko party.

There is pressure on Yabloko to file the case quickly with less than a month left until the vote.

“As long as the court decides in our favor, whatever time is left, would be fine with us,” Vishnevsky said.

The party is also discussing plans for organizing a protest vote among the voters.

But Vadim Tyulpanov, speaker of the St. Petersburg Legislative Assembly, believes that the Yabloko battle is over. The politician has already made a statement where he said that he regretted “Yabloko’s absence in the next parliament.”

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