The Russians go to the polls on Sunday for regional elections in the midst of the poisoning of the number one opponent Alexeï Navalny, whose supporters are calling for a “smart vote” to bring down the candidates from power.
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In 41 regions of the largest country in the world, voters are called upon to elect their governors, regional or municipal assemblies, as well as four deputies to the national parliament. Authorities have authorized a three-day ballot and open-air polling stations, officially to limit risks from the coronavirus.
This year, the campaign was boosted by the presence of opponents, in particular in Novosibirsk (Siberia), the third largest city in the country, where an unprecedented alliance of around thirty independent candidates, including the supporters of Mr. Navalny, challenges the party of Vladimir Putin, United Russia.
The campaign was particularly active there, for example with large billboards in town showing the faces of the candidates, in particular those of the new parties. “Tell them no!” and “Vote to change the system” are among the most visible slogans.
“This year there are more candidates who want to do concrete things and not just people only interested in power. There are more young people, ”Maxime Ivanov, a 47-year-old lawyer, who came to vote in Novosibirsk told AFP on Saturday.
Sergei Boyko, a well-known 37-year-old candidate who united the opposition, prides himself on having succeeded in “disrupting the plans” of United Russia and the Communist Party, which had already “divided the districts of the city between them, hoping an easy campaign ”.
From now on, pro-Kremlin candidates in Novosibirsk “must campaign actively, meet voters every day, spend a lot of money”, he welcomes, noting that within his coalition, “many people participate to politics for the first time ”.
“Smart voting”
The regional elections are also an opportunity for the opposition to once again test its “smart vote” tactics, which consists of calling for votes for the candidate best placed to lose the one in power.
This tactic had already proven its worth last summer in Moscow in contested municipal elections in which United Russia lost many seats, mainly to the benefit of the Communists.
It was crafted by Alexei Navalny, the main adversary of the Kremlin whose specter hangs over the countryside. Falling seriously ill in August while touring Siberia to support opposition candidates and investigate corruption of local elites, he is currently hospitalized in Berlin.
According to his German doctors, Mr. Navalny was poisoned in Russia by an nerve agent of the Novichok type, a substance designed by Soviet specialists for military purposes. The 44-year-old opponent didn’t come out of a coma until Monday.
Germany and the West have called on Russian authorities to explain themselves and bring those responsible to justice, while the Kremlin continues to question the version of the poisoning and denounce unfounded accusations, despite threats of news sanctions.
Opposition supporters also came under attack, pressure and threats throughout the campaign.
Apart from United Russia and the traditional Communist Party and LDPR (nationalists), the ballot also includes candidates from four new parties – focused respectively on conservatism, entrepreneurs, ecology or new technologies – but suspected of having been encouraged by the power to divide the electorate that the opposition aims and give a pluralist veneer to the polls.
In a difficult economic and social context, accusations of corruption and an unpopular pension reform in 2018, the popularity of Vladimir Putin’s party is eroding with only 30% of favorable opinions, according to the latest polls.
These local and regional elections take place one year from the legislative elections of September 2021.