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Pro-Putin candidates suffer losses in Moscow elections
Source: The Guardian
Pro-Putin candidates suffer losses in Moscow elections
Opposition figure Alexei Navalny hails success of tactical voting campaign
Marc Bennetts in Moscow
Mon 9 Sep 2019 12.00 BST
First published on Mon 9 Sep 2019 09.41 BST
Pro-Kremlin candidates have suffered losses in local elections in Moscow as Vladimir Putin’s biggest critic hailed the success of his campaign to encourage strategic voting.
The election was closely watched by both sides following a summer of protests in the Russian capital against the Kremlin’s refusal to allow candidates allied with opposition leader Alexei Navalny on to the ballot.
According to Russian media reports the Kremlin banned opposition candidates after internal polling indicated they would win at least nine seats. While the city council has few powers, analysts say the Kremlin was reluctant to allow Navalny’s allies a foothold on the electoral ladder ahead of far more significant parliamentary polls due in 2021.
Navalny, 43, portrayed the city council elections as a referendum on Putin and the United Russia party that backs the president. He appealed to voters to cast their ballots for United Russia’s strongest challengers, even if they represented political parties that they would not normally vote for, such as the Communists.
-snip-
Opposition figure Alexei Navalny hails success of tactical voting campaign
Marc Bennetts in Moscow
Mon 9 Sep 2019 12.00 BST
First published on Mon 9 Sep 2019 09.41 BST
Pro-Kremlin candidates have suffered losses in local elections in Moscow as Vladimir Putin’s biggest critic hailed the success of his campaign to encourage strategic voting.
The election was closely watched by both sides following a summer of protests in the Russian capital against the Kremlin’s refusal to allow candidates allied with opposition leader Alexei Navalny on to the ballot.
According to Russian media reports the Kremlin banned opposition candidates after internal polling indicated they would win at least nine seats. While the city council has few powers, analysts say the Kremlin was reluctant to allow Navalny’s allies a foothold on the electoral ladder ahead of far more significant parliamentary polls due in 2021.
Navalny, 43, portrayed the city council elections as a referendum on Putin and the United Russia party that backs the president. He appealed to voters to cast their ballots for United Russia’s strongest challengers, even if they represented political parties that they would not normally vote for, such as the Communists.
-snip-
Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/sep/09/putin-party-losses-moscow-elections